Roy Keane is widely considered as one of the best Premier League players of all time. The 67-cap Republic of Ireland international won seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League with Manchester United.
His stern, no-nonsense attitude is often trivialised within the media nowadays, as he commonly works as a pundit for Sky Sports and ITV, but back in his playing career, it brought him a lot of controversial moments, including a high-profile bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Notwithstanding that, there is also little doubt it contributed to many of his achievements and successes.
Today at Football FanCast we delve into Roy Keane’s career and most talked-about moments.
How old is Roy Keane?
Roy Keane was born on the 10th of August 1971, in Cork, Ireland.
He is 52-years-old.
Who is Roy Keane's wife?
Roy met Theresa Doyle in 1992, when the midfielder was playing for Nottingham Forest.
Keane’s family consists of five children, Shannon, Caragh, Aidan, Leah and Alanna. Roy also has two grandkids, a granddaughter and a grandson, which he revealed during his experiment on Instagram.
What is Roy Keane's height?
Roy Keane stands at a whopping 5ft 10 (177.8cm).
How much did Man Utd pay for Roy Keane?
Manchester United paid Nottingham Forest a British transfer record fee of £3.75m to sign 21-year-old midfielder Roy Keane in the summer of 1993.
Remarkably, Keane had agreed a deal with Blackburn Rovers prior to the switch but Sir Alex Ferguson’s 11th-hour attempt to hijack the move was successful, to the anger of Rovers boss Kenny Daglish.
Keane later recalled how the transfer saga unfolded: “I agreed a deal and shook hands with him. I went back to Cork and, on the Sunday morning, woke up and I got a phone-call from Sir Alex to my house back in Cork and he said will you come and meet with me for talks tomorrow. I said look, I shook hands with Blackburn and he said don’t worry about that! Kenny was fuming!”
“We had to sign Roy Keane,” said Sir Alex.“It was absolutely vital for the club’s future.”
And, as they say, the rest is history…
Why did Roy Keane leave Man Utd?
Roy Keane left Manchester United in November 2005, ending a 12-and-a-half-year spell, to the shock of football fans across the globe. A bust-up with Sir Alex three weeks prior was the catalyst for his departure.
Keane angered the United boss when he launched an attack on his teammates following a 4-1 defeat to Middlesborough at the Riverside Stadium.
MUTV interviewed the injured midfielder to get his thoughts on the game but he certainly didn’t hold back. In fact, the footage wasn’t allowed to be aired and the club attempted to delete the tape, as reported by The Mirror.
Sir Alex, whilst not naming Keane, appeared to provide his thoughts on his captain’s rant after United’s victory over Chelsea on November 6, 2005.
“You don’t criticise any Manchester United player outside the doors. I have never done and I won’t. I am unremitting in that respect. Totally unequivocal. My stance is there and it doesn’t change,” said Ferguson.
After a rocky few months thereafter, Keane left by mutual consent following a live MUTV phone-in, in which the Irishman announced it’d be his last season at the club.
And that was the final straw for Sir Alex and the hierarchy.
Was Roy Keane an aggressive player?
Roy Keane has certainly had his fair share of heated moments on the pitch, but perhaps ‘no-nonsense’ would be a better term to use.
The classic encounter between Keane and Patrick Vieira in the Highbury tunnel is an iconic moment that demonstrates his passion for defending teammates (maybe not in an MUTV interview).
The video below shows the midfielder confronting Vieira for ‘picking’ on his teammate Gary Neville prior to a fixture between Manchester United and Arsenal on February 1st, 2005.
In an interview after the match, the Red Devils skipper said: “I don’t want to go into too much detail but Patrick is six-foot-four… he says something about Gary Neville. I said ‘come and have a go at me’ – simple as that.
“If players want to intimidate some of my teammates, then let’s have a go at some of the other players. They think Gary Neville’s an easy target. I weren’t having it.”
Keane had the last laugh, though, as his side defeated the Gunners 4-2 on away soil.
How many red cards did Roy Keane get?
Roy Keane received seven red cards throughout his career but his dismissal for a challenge on Manchester City’s Alfie Haaland was by far the worst.