The funny side of Roy Keane: former Man United star’s hilarious tales of strip clubs, clowns, his rivals and THAT tirade
As a player, Roy Keane was a no-nonsense hard man with a formidable reputation.
The ex-Manchester United midfielder would regularly get involved in heated clashes with opponents, referees and sometimes even his own teammates and managers.
While some of those traits have been carried over into his second career as a pundit – he’s still known for his tirades and a refusal to surrender to ‘bulls***’ – the football world is beginning to see that Keane does indeed have a funny side.
The now 51-year-old was rarely seen with a smile on his face on the pitch, but his stern demeanor seems to have lessened since he traded his boots for the television studio, even though he occasionally types back on the job. for Sky Sports and ITV.
Here, Mail Sports chronicles four examples of Keane showing his softer side.
Ex-Man United star Roy Keane has had his fair share of comedic moments since becoming a TV pundit
Keane had a formidable reputation as a player, but has shown his lighter side in recent years
Dress up as a clown for a Sky commercial
In July, Sky Sports released a hilarious advert featuring a spate of household names as circus performers.
The broadcaster’s ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ advert included Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish, England cricket captain Ben Stokes, F1 legend Lewis Hamilton, Lionesses star Ella Toone and Emma Raducanu.
At the very end, the camera pans to ringmaster Idris Elba speaking to Keane, who is dressed as a clown.
Keane may have a typically serious expression in the video – suggesting he’s not quite sure what he’s doing there – but the fact that he agreed to take part in it was remarkable.
Sky Sports released a brilliant new advert last month, featuring Roy Keane as a clown
He had previously been involved in an advertisement for SkyBet where he quickly walked to Craven Cottage, ignoring fans and Laura Woods before jokingly tapping Jeff Stelling on the shoulder so he could take his place to go into the ground.
The ad also references Keane’s infamous tirade when he is offered a shrimp sandwich in the concourse. He then sits down and breathes a sigh of relief, but begins to shake his head at a supporter standing a few rows in front of him, who turns out to be fellow expert Micah Richards.
Pre-season stories on The Overlap Live
Keane was featured on The Overlap’s tour of the country this year, with stops in London, Dublin, Manchester and Liverpool.
During one of the shows, Keane told a hilarious story about a night out in Chicago during a pre-season tour with Man United.
“We had a night out, we took some young players, pre-season, we were definitely in Chicago, I remember that,” said Keane.
Keane told a hilarious story about a pre-season visit to a strip club during The Overlap’s tour
“The next morning I woke up, Denis (Irwin) wakes me up. We sort of try to get down for the bus we traveled on.
“I looked and my whole face was black, just black. I couldn’t figure out what was happening. I went, “Jesus.”
“I’m trying to put on my gear. I get on the bus, it all comes back to me. I’m in the back of the bus, we travel, of course towards the airport.
“Our press officer sends us a story about some Man United players sitting in a strip club in Chicago.
“So I’m at the back, I said, ‘Don’t worry. They have no proof. No proof. Everyone relaxes. I have it under control. I’m clearly the captain, you’re fine with me.’
Keane then revealed that things hadn’t gone quite to plan. “Five minutes (later) the phone rings again. Apparently they have proof. I said, ‘What do they have? What do they have?’
“They said, ‘They have your fingerprints.’ He also said, ‘They have your credit card information. Your passport details.’ And I said, “Is that all they have on me?”
So the bus exploded. They did a clear in-depth story and obviously when I went in I gave my fingerprints at night and then I just rubbed my face as the night went on.
“That’s all I rubbed. I just rubbed my face. I think they told the story and the headline in some Irish newspapers was something like ‘Horny Devils’ or something like that.’
It’s fair to say that Neville and Carragher enjoyed the anecdote, which left the crowd in awe.
‘Business’ nemesis Patrick Vieira
It’s a shame social media wasn’t around in the Irishman’s heyday. If so, we might have seen even more great Keane content.
In 2021, Keane was on the pitch with the Emirates before Arsenal lost 2-0 to Chelsea while working as a pundit for Sky Sports.
Before Keane went on air, a Gunners supporter was heard yelling “Where’s Patrick?” and “Where’s Vieira” to his direction – and his reaction, captured in a video on Instagram, was genius.
Keane jokingly took out his pocket when Arsenal fans asked him where Patrick Vieira was
Keane referenced a football term as he took out the pocket of his trousers, indicating that he had Patrick Vieira – with whom he shared a fiercely intense on-field rivalry during their respective spells at Man United and Arsenal – in his pocket.
He then smiled wryly as the Arsenal fans cackled in the background, with the Instagram video captioned ‘Roy Keane has a bit of banter at the Arsenal game’.
He mocked his own diatribe over a shrimp sandwich
To say Keane’s departure from Man United in 2005 was acrimonious would be an understatement. Sir Alex Ferguson’s midfield general left the club after a fiery interview with the club’s internal channel, MUTV, in which he denounced his teammates and standards at Old Trafford.
Keane had not been linked with United until he starred in the promotional video released this week to mark the launch of their new third kit, his first work for the club in 18 years.
And Keane was happy to mock one of his own infamous tirades from his days as a player.
Following the Red Devils’ Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv in November 2000, Keane launched into an astonishing diatribe against United’s home support.
Keane made light of his famous 2000 ‘shrimp sandwich’ diatribe in a promotional video
“Our fans away from home are as good as anyone else, but some of them come here and you have to wonder if they understand the game of football?” He said.
“We’re 1-0 up, then there’s one or two stray passes and they get players on their backs. It’s just not on.
“Ultimately, they have to get behind the team. Outdoors our fans are fantastic, I would call them the hardcore fans.
“But at home they have a few drinks and probably the shrimp sandwiches, and they don’t realize what’s happening on the field.
“I don’t think some people who come to Old Trafford can spell football let alone understand it.
“To win three and four games every time, these people need fantasy football. They have to go out into the real world.’
At the end of the third kit video, Keane makes his “shrimp sandwich” jibe light-hearted as he looks at a plate full of them while shaking his head in disapproval. Fantastic.