Roy Keane Still Holds Regrets About Rejecting Two Transfers During His Career | Balls.ie

Looking back at Roy Keane’s playing career, it’s difficult to imagine him not spending the vast majority of his career with Manchester United.

The Cork man was an iconic figure at Old Trafford, playing there for 12 years and winning a huge number of major honours along the way. He was also captain the club for the majority of that period.

Of course, things could have been very different for the Irishman.

Roy Keane would infamously back out of a deal with Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 1993, reneging on a transfer he had agreed with manager Kenny Dalglish after United came calling. That move resulted in quite a bit of animosity between the pair at the time.

As well as that, the midfielder had opportunities to leave Manchester United at a much earlier stage than he eventually did in 2005.

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Roy Keane still looks backs on two rejected transfers during career

Considering the level that Roy Keane played at throughout his career, it should come as no surprise to learn that he drew the interest of quite a few major clubs during his time at Manchester United.

Some of the biggest teams in Europe made attempts to sign the midfielder at various points, and while he would turn each of those advances down, there are two deals that he has slight regrets over rejecting.

Speaking on Stick to Football in association with Sky Bet, Roy Keane said that it was contracts on the table from Bayern Munich in the late 90s and Real Madrid in 2005 that he still looks back on now.

I’m a bit wary on regrets, but I had opportunities to play abroad.

I should have been brave enough to go abroad in Italy, Germany or Spain. I had the opportunities.

I always had a soft spot for Juventus. They offered me a deal, but I remember the deal, I remember thinking at the time it wasn’t amazing. I was looking for an amazing deal.

The club that offered me the most amazing deal ever was Bayern Munich.

Then when I left United (in 2005), and you’re on about self-worth, I went up to Celtic, but I could have went to Real Madrid for a year-and-a-half. They offered me a year-and-a-half.

Celtic was an emotional (choice) a bit, which is fine because I don’t mind making them sort of decisions. I was 34, I just thought would I go to Madrid and have an impact?

Roy Keane was locked in extended contract talks with Manchester United throughout the 1999/00 season and it was during this period that both Bayern Munich and Juventus made their move to sign him on a free transfer. He would eventually commit to a new deal at Old Trafford that ran until 2005.

When he was moved on from the club in the winter of that year after a falling out with Alex Ferguson, he would opt to join Celtic instead of taking the contract that offered to him by Real Madrid.

It certainly would have been brilliant to see Keane have a late career salvo in the Spanish capital.

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