Man Utd legend Roy Keane wishes he had been ‘brave’ enough to play for European giants he ‘always had a soft spot for’
MANCHESTER UNITED legend Roy Keane has revealed he once turned down the opportunity to play for three different Champions League giants.
The former midfielder spent 12 years at United after joining from Nottingham Forest in 1993.
He captained the side from 1997 and went on to make 477 appearances.
Keane left to join Celtic in 2005, but recently admitted he could have moved elsewhere in Europe at the time.
Speaking to Ian Wright, Jill Scott, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville for the Stick to Football podcast, the 52-year-old revealed he received offers from Juventus, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Asked about the toughest decision he ever had to make as a player, Keane responded: “Probably leaving United at the time. That was probably hard.
“Talking about decisions also, I definitely should’ve gone abroad. I had opportunities to play abroad.
“I should’ve been brave enough to have gone over and played in Italy or Germany or Spain, and I had the opportunity.”
Asked which team he could have gone to, he continued: “Do you know, I always had a soft spot for Juventus.
“And they offered my a deal but I remember the deal wasn’t, kind of… At the time thinking it wasn’t amazing, I was going for an amazing deal.
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“The club that offered me the most amazing deal ever was Bayern Munich.
“And then when I left United I went up to Celtic and I could’ve gone to Real Madrid for a year and a half, they offered me a year and a half.
“Celtic, it was emotional. I was fine making those kind of decisions, I was 34, I just thought, will I go to Madrid and make an impact?”
Keane retired from professional football in 2006, a year after joining Celtic.
He then took up coaching roles at Sunderland, Ipswich Town, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and the Republic of Ireland national team.
However, the ex-Ireland star now works as a pundit for Sky Sports and ITV.
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