Manchester United enjoyed the most trophy-laden era in their history under the guidance of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
As well as having brilliant leadership off the pitch in this period, The Red Devils were also blessed with brilliant leadership on the pitch thanks to their captain Roy Keane.
Keane joined the club in 1993 for a then-record transfer fee of £3.75m. He more than paid that fee back during his tenure at Old Trafford, winning seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one UEFA Champions League with the Red Devils.
It all could’ve been oh-so-different though, with a Premier League rival having come extremely close to signing Keane before Man United snapped him up.
Sir Alex Ferguson was proven right on Roy Keane
Keane quickly became a star at Nottingham Forest.
Signed from Cobh Ramblers in 1990, Keane bagged 33 goals in 154 games from midfield for Forest, shining under Brian Clough.
Fresh off winning the first Premier League title, United pounced to sign Keane, with Sir Alex Ferguson absolutely convinced by his ability.
“I can’t afford to lose this player. You know how much I have wanted him for ages,” Ferguson told Forest boss Frank Clark, as quoted by United’s official website.
The Scot was desperate to land Keane and was quoted as saying that signing the Irishman was ‘absolutely vital’ for United’s future.
“We had to sign Roy Keane,” said Ferguson. “It was absolutely vital for the club’s future,” he added.
Not content with just winning one Premier League title, Ferguson was already looking for more and more success.
Paul Ince and Bryan Robson were a superb midfield partnership for United, but Ferguson saw the future – he knew that Keane would become a United legend.
Arguably United’s greatest ever captain, Keane didn’t let Ferguson down and made sure that the work in signing him was repaid with exceptional performance.
Their relationship may have deteriorated over the years, but Ferguson acknowledged the difficulty of replacing Keane, noting that signing Owen Hargreaves was a ‘disaster’.
One manager left ‘fuming’ by Roy Keane transfer
Ferguson was so desperate to land Keane because he almost joined a Premier League rival.
Blackburn Rovers had agreed a deal to sign Keane from Forest with Kenny Dalglish making his move.
Paperwork problems held up the deal, and Ferguson seized his opportunity, hijacking Keane’s transfer and luring him to Old Trafford.
As quoted by United’s official website, Keane admitted that Dalglish was ‘fuming’, but Ferguson convinced him to shun Rovers and join United instead.
“I agreed a deal and shook hands with him,” said Keane. “I went back to Cork and, on the Sunday morning, woke up and I got a phone-call from Sir Alex to my house back in Cork and he said will you come and meet with me for talks tomorrow. I said look, I shook hands with Blackburn and he said don’t worry about that! Kenny was fuming!” he added.
That phone call was inspired business from Ferguson, and as Keane’s two former clubs lock horns on Tuesday night, he will certainly feel that he made the right decision some 32 years ago.
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