The Irishman’s autobiography is released on Thursday.
Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has revealed that he had an opportunity to join Real Madrid but decided not to because of a “fear of the unknown”, Goal.com reports.
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The revelations come from Keane’s new book, titled ‘The Second Half’, and says that the legendary midfielder did not fully appreciate the opportunity that was in front of him when Real revealed their interest after the midfielder had left Manchester United.
“Michael [Kennedy: Keane’s agent] had given me a heads-up that Emilio Butragueno would be phoning, so I took my mobile phone everywhere with me,” he wrote.
“And – how’s your luck – he rang me while I was sitting on the toilet. He said: ‘Look Roy, we’ll be glad to have you.’ The club’s board just had to sanction the deal.
“I should have appreciated Real’s offer more. It was the most attractive challenge in front of me but I didn’t accept it.
Keane went on to play for Celtic in his final season as a player and despite his disappointment that he didn’t get an opportunity to play for Los Blancos, he doesn’t think he would have made a great impression had he moved to the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It’s no good playing for a club, it’s about having a big influence,” he added.
“Real Madrid might just have wanted someone to do a job, sit in the middle of the park for a few games. But I wanted to go in and have an effect on a team.”
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