‘Before I sat down they’d already prepared a statement’: Roy Keane opens up on last moments with Sir Alex Ferguson before he kicked him out of Man United – and ‘had the years wrong’ on his goodbye

Roy Keane has revealed his unceremonious departure from Manchester United, revealing that Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill sat him down and prepared a statement for him announcing he would be sacked.

The Irishman also added that the club had also misunderstood the years with the statement, with Ian Wright claiming his dismissal was ‘cold’.

The 52-year-old controversially left Old Trafford in November 2005 after appearing in an interview on MUTV where he criticized his teammates’ performances following a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough – a match in which Keane did not play. .

The incident infuriated his manager, Ferguson, with the United boss opting to fine the midfielder £5,000 before sitting him in a meeting with CEO Gill to tell their former captain they would be breaking his contract .

Keane, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky betadmitted that while he had no problem with players being sent off, he was disappointed with the way United had handled his departure.

Keane claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill sat him down and gave him a statement announcing he was being let go.

‘I generally have no problem with a club telling a player to leave the club. That’s the game we’re in,” he said on the podcast.

“For you (Ian Wright) they’ve let you sit down and have a chat – to me at least that’s somewhat respectful.

‘I am called to a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill and before I sat down they had already prepared a statement. This is my problem – they already made a statement, and they got the years wrong!’

Keane went on to play for Celtic, but also revealed that he had held talks with both Everton and Bolton and other teams about a possible move after leaving Man United.

He added: ‘Everton would have been a good move at the time – because of the location, and I had huge respect for David Moyes – but I felt I couldn’t go to another English team.’

The midfielder scored 51 goals and 38 assists in 478 appearances in all competitions for Man United between 1993 and 2006.

He won seven Premier League titles with the football club, four FA Cups and one Champions League title, and played a key role in the Red Devils’ historic treble-winning campaign in 1999.

After leaving United, he played half a season for Celtic in 2006, but his career was cut short after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was told by medical professionals to retire.

Keane won seven Premier League titles with the Red Devils during a 12-year spell at Old Trafford

He also spoke out about former Man United and Everton manager David Moyes, claiming he had struggled to sign his targets when in charge at Old Trafford.

Keane, who could have joined Moyes’ Everton after United, also spoke out about the Scottish manager, revealing that the 60-year-old had struggled to sign many of his targets during his time at Man United.

“When David Moyes came in (as manager at Manchester United), Moyes said the number of players he was looking for were never ready – they (couldn’t) get them ready,” Keane said.

‘Moyes was almost beaten before he started because they couldn’t get deals in the big transfers in the first summer (and) in the last minute they got (Marouane) Fellaini from Everton and almost from that moment on I thought: ‘Oh, is that so? It?”‘

Roy Keane spoke on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky bet.