After joining them in December 2005, Keane made just 13 appearances for Celtic but added the medals of the winner in the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup to his enviable collection before choosing to leave.
On that day, fourteen years ago, Roy Keane brought down the curtain on his remarkable career, the former captain of Manchester United saying medical advice on a long-standing hip injury meant retirement was his “one option.”
But it was south of the border that he had his title truly signed. Despite an acrimonious exit from Old Trafford the month before he joined the Hoops, during 12 years at United Keane made himself a great club.
He ensured that his name would be spoken with the same amount of reverie reserved for the likes of George Best, Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards, the Class of ’92 and, more recently, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The fans agreed when he blamed the “prawn sandwich party” for refusing to help their side, the Red Devils applauded while voicing their concerns for team-mates who cared more for their “Rolexes and Mansions” than for their efforts on the field.
When in February he stood up to Patrick Vieira in the Highbury tunnel and told the Frenchman that he would “see him out there” it was lapped up by the Old Trafford hordes.
However, transcripts of what was called an ‘unbroadcastable’ MUTV interview that appeared in print containing stinging personal attacks on teammates were reported sowing the seeds of his downfall.
Keane’s last couple of years in the north-west were remembered more for his words than for his actions, with major hip surgery left its mark in 2002, months after a walk-out from the World Cup training camp in the Republic of Ireland.
But the player who terrorized opposition at the height of his career at home and abroad is rightly considered one of the greatest midfielders ever to grace the English game.
