Manchester United legend Roy Keane has said he regrets not moving abroad during his career and had the chance to join Real Madrid in 2005.
Speaking to popular football magazine FourFourTwo, the former midfielder revealed he also had opportunities to join Bayern Munich and Juventus during his playing days but opted to stay at Old Trafford because he felt at home.
The Irishman spent 12 and a half trophy laden years in the north west of England, making 480 appearances as he lifted the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carling Cup among others. But a huge fall out with then boss Alex Ferguson lead Keane to leave suddenly in 2005, when he joined Celtic.
He did, in fact, have another offer from Los Blancos, but turned it down.
He told the magazine: “I was 34 and my hip was hurting me. Maybe I took the easier option by going to Celtic – it was certainly easier on my body. If I had my time over again, then maybe, but I enjoyed being at Celtic.
“My regret was that I should have gone abroad earlier in my career. I could have signed for Juventus or Bayern Munich – I had much better financial offers from them – but at the time I wanted to stay at United. I felt at home at Old Trafford.”
