The funny side of Roy Keane: Former Man United star’s hilarious stories of strip clubs, clowns, his rivals and THAT rant
- Roy Keane was not known for his sense of humour during his playing career
- The Irishman, 51, still has a reputation for being no-nonsense as a TV pundit
- But the ex-Man United star has shown his lighter side on several occasions
As a player, Roy Keane was a no-nonsense hard man with a fearsome reputation.
The ex-Manchester United midfielder would regularly get involved in heated clashes with opponents, referees and, at times, even his own team mates and managers.
While some of those traits have carried over into his second career as a pundit – he is still known for his tirades and a refusal to indulge in ‘bulls***’ – the footballing world is starting to see that Keane does in fact have a funny side.
The now 51-year-old was rarely spotted with a smile on his face on the pitch but his stern demeanour appears to have eased since he swapped his boots for the television studio, even if he does revert to type on the odd occasion while working for Sky Sports and ITV.
Here, Mail Sports recounts four examples of Keane showing his softer side.
Ex-Man United star Roy Keane has had his fair share of comedy moments since becoming a TV pundit
Keane had a fearsome reputation as a player but has shown his lighter side in recent years
Dressing up as a clown for a Sky advert
In July, Sky Sports released a hilarious advert featuring a spate of household names as circus performers.
The broadcaster’s ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ ad included the likes of Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish, England men’s cricket captain Ben Stokes, F1 legend Lewis Hamilton, Lionesses star Ella Toone and Emma Raducanu.
Right at the end, the camera pans to ringmaster Idris Elba speaking to Keane, who is dressed as a clown.
Keane may be sporting a typically serious expression in the video – suggesting he is not quite sure what he is doing there – but the fact he agreed to take part in it was notable.
Sky Sports last month released a brilliant new advert, which features Roy Keane as a clown
He had previously been involved in an advert for SkyBet, where he was seen briskly walking to Craven Cottage, ignoring fans and Laura Woods before jokingly tapping Jeff Stelling on the shoulder so he can take his place in getting into the ground.
The advert also makes reference to Keane’s infamous rant as he is offered a prawn sandwich on the concourse. He then takes his seat and breathes a sigh of relief only to start shaking his head at a supporter standing up a few rows in front of him, which turns out to be fellow pundit Micah Richards.
Pre-season stories on The Overlap Live
Keane featured on The Overlap’s tour of the country this year, which included stops in London, Dublin, Manchester and Liverpool.
During one of the shows, Keane recounted a hilarious tale about a night out in Chicago when on a pre-season tour with Man United.
‘We had a night out, we took a couple young players, pre-season, we were definitely in Chicago, I remember that,’ Keane said.
Keane told a hilarious story about a pre-season visit to a strip club during The Overlap’s tour
‘Woke up the next morning, Denis [Irwin] is waking me up. We’re kind of trying to get down for the bus where we were travelling.
‘I looked and all my face was black, just black. I couldn’t work out what happened. I went: “Jesus.”
‘Trying to get my gear on. I get on the bus, it’s all coming back to me. I’m sitting at the back of the bus, we’re travelling, obviously towards the airport.
‘Our press officer sends us a story about some of the Man United players being in a strip club, Chicago.
‘So I’m down the back, I said: ‘Don’t worry about it. They’ve got no proof. No proof. Everyone relax. I’ve got it under control. I’m obviously the captain, you’re fine with me.’
Keane then revealed it had not quite gone to plan. ‘Five minutes (later), the phone goes again. Apparently, they’ve got proof. I said: ‘What have they got? What have they got?’
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tm1rb8d6dNk%3Frel%3D0
‘They said: ‘They’ve got your fingerprints.’ He also said: ‘They have your credit card details. Your passport details.’ And I said: ‘Is that all they’ve got on me?’
‘So the bus erupted. They’ve done a story obviously in-depth and obviously when I went in I gave my fingerprints during the night and then I was just rubbing my face as the night was going on.
‘That’s all I was rubbing. I was just rubbing my face. I think they ran the story and the headline in some of the Irish papers was something like ‘Horny Devils’ or something.’
It is fair to say Neville and Carragher enjoyed the anecdote, which left the crowd in stitches.
‘Pocketing’ arch-nemesis Patrick Vieira
It is a shame social media wasn’t around in the Irishman’s heyday. If it was, we might have seen even more superb Keane content.
In 2021, Keane was pitchside at the Emirates before Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea while working as a pundit for Sky Sports.
Before Keane went on air, a Gunners supporter was heard shouting ‘Where’s Patrick?’ and ‘Where’s Vieira’ in his direction – and his response, captured in a video posted to Instagram, was genius.
Keane jokingly pulled out his pocket when he was asked where Patrick Vieira was by Arsenal fans
https://www.instagram.com/p/CS9BI85gpjj/
A post shared by THATGUYSJOKES (@thatguysjokes)
Keane referenced a footballing term as he pulled out the pocket of his trousers, signalling he had Patrick Vieira – with whom he shared a fiercely intense on-pitch rivalry during their respective stints at Man United and Arsenal – in his pocket.
He then gave a wry smile as the Arsenal fans cackled in the background, with the Instagram video captioned ‘Roy Keane having a bit of banter at the Arsenal game’.
Mocking his own prawn sandwich rant
To say Keane’s Man United exit in 2005 was acrimonious would be an understatement. Sir Alex Ferguson’s midfield general left the club following a fiery interview with the club’s in-house channel MUTV, during which he lambasted his team mates and the standards at Old Trafford.
Keane had not been associated with United until he starred in the promotional video released to coincide with the launch of their new third kit this week, his first work for the club in 18 years.
And Keane was happy to mock one of his own infamous rants from his time as a player.
Following the Red Devils’ Champions league victory over Dynamo Kyiv in November 2000, Keane launched an astonishing tirade against United’s home support.
Keane in a promotional video made light of his famous ‘prawn sandwich’ rant from 2000
‘Our fans away from home are as good as any, but some of them come here and you have to wonder do they understand the game of football?’ He said.
‘We’re 1-0 up, then there are one or two stray passes and they’re getting on players’ backs. It’s just not on.
‘At the end of the day they need to get behind the team. Away from home our fans are fantastic, I’d call them the hardcore fans.
‘But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don’t realise what’s going on out on the pitch.
‘I don’t think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it.
‘To win games by three and four every time – these people need fantasy football. They need to get in the real world.’
At the end of the third kit video, Keane makes light of his ‘prawn sandwich’ jibe as he is seen looking at a plate full of them shaking his head in disapproval. Superb.
Source: Read Full Article
