Roy Keane left Gary Neville astonished after revealing he turned down a move to Real Madrid to join Celtic.
The former Manchester United captain had an offer on the table from the Bernabeu in 2005. He also had opportunities to move to Juventus or Celtic under Gordon Strachan. Ultimately, he chose the “emotional” move to Glasgow, a club he grew up idolising, much to Neville’s surprise, who was unaware of the Madrid interest.
Keane, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, discussed his mindset after leaving Old Trafford following a fallout with Sir Alex Ferguson. He detailed the offers he had and his reasoning behind choosing Glasgow over the allure of Real Madrid.
“Do you know, I always had a soft spot for Juventus. And they offered me a deal but I remember the deal at the time, thinking it wasn’t amazing,” he said. “I was looking for an amazing deal. And the club that offered me the most amazing deal ever was Bayern Munich.
“And then when I left United, I went up to Celtic but I could have gone to Real Madrid for a year and a half.
“They offered me a year and a half. And I was like, Celtic was kind of emotional, which is fine. I don’t mind making them kinds of decisions.
“And I was 34, I just thought, would I go to Madrid and have an impact?”
Neville could hardly believe it, adding: “I didn’t know you turned down Real Madrid.”
“I know,” Keane responded.