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Manchester United icon Roy Keane has divulged that he regrets not leaving the Red Devils to join German giants Bayern Munich years ago. The former midfielder stated that although he was very close to joining the Bavarians, he eventually chose not to.
Keane was speaking to former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville as well as Arsenal legend Ian Wright on The Overlap, sponsored by Sky Bet. The Irishman insisted that he has a bit of regret about not getting to experience life as a footballer outside the UK.
When Neville asked him about reports of him being in talks with Bayern Munich at the time, Keane replied in the affirmative. The 52-year-old said that he almost left Manchester United before adding that he is jealous of players who now travel abroad to play.
"I'd agreed a deal, my contract was up obviously a couple of times when I had done my cruciate and I came back, I had opportunities to go. I was on a free and yeah, part of me is jealous when I see other lads now going abroad because it's a great experience for a family maybe," he said.
Keane further stated that he was content at Old Trafford at the time. Keane went on to add that if he knew how his time at Manchester United would end, he would have taken the chance to leave the club.
"But again I was really happy at United and contented. If I knew it was going to end (the way it did), I look back now loyalty and all that type of talk with (Sir Alex) Ferguson, I probably definitely should have gone abroad and experienced a different league," Kenae added.
Fellow Premier League legends Jamie Carragher and David Beckham were also present as Keane spoke.
Roy Keane earned legendary status at Manchester United
Keane embodied the Manchester United spirit under Sir Alex Ferguson, becoming one of the most-feared midfielders in the league. He joined the club as a 22-year-old in 1993 for a then-British transfer record of £3.75 million from Nottingham Forest.
Roy Keane went on to captain the Red Devils, holding the role from 1997 until 2005 when he left the club. He featured 478 times for United across competitions, winning 17 major honors.
He left the English giants for Celtic in 2005 after publicly criticizing defender Rio Ferdinand. Shortly before his exit, he also fell out with Ferguson and was released from his contract immediately.
Keane joined Celtic in December 2005 outside the transfer window but his time with the Scottish outfit was not a memorable one.
