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Who is Roy Keane?
Irish former professional soccer player, pundit and coach Roy Maurice Keane was born in Cork, Ireland on 10 August 1971, making Leo his zodiac sign. He’s been rated by many as the best Irish soccer player of all time, as he won 19 major trophies, 17 of which were with Manchester United; Roy’s believed to be one of the best midfielders of all time, and was in 2021 inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. He also played for the Republic of Ireland national team for 14 years, for most of which he was the team captain.
Roy’s been working as a soccer coach since his retirement from playing in 2006.
Education and early life
Roy was raised in Cork alongside his sister Hillary and brothers Denis, Patrick and Johnson, by their mother Marie and father Maurice Keane; the family struggled financially, and Maurice worked whatever jobs he could find, including at the brewery Murphy’s Irish Stout and at a local knitwear company.
The Keane family were all passionate about soccer, and several of Roy’s relatives played for Cork soccer clubs; Roy was rather into boxing, which he took up at the age of nine and went on to win all of his novice league bouts. He then also turned to soccer and joined the club Rockmount, being named ‘Player of the Year’ during his first year; he cheered for Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic, but his favorite player was Manchester United’s Bryan Robson.
Roy matriculated from a local high school in 1989, and then didn’t attend college.
Career as a soccer player
Roy signed with the semi-professional Irish team Cobh Ramblers in 1989, and was transferred to Nottingham Forest in 1990.
It was hard for Roy in Nottingham, England because he had become used to being close to his family; he played for their Under 21 team, and his first professional league game was a loss against Liverpool. His first professional goal was against Sheffield United in the second half of 1990, and he then became a regular starter, having replaced Stephen Brian ‘Steve’ Hodge. He helped his team reach the 1991 FA Cup Final by scoring three goals, but they were then defeated by Tottenham Hotspur. Nottingham reached the 1992 Football League Cup finals but lost 1-0 to Manchester United.
Roy Keane, 1993. pic.twitter.com/xR7Cqy869u
— Manchester United Snapshot (@ManUtdSnapshot) November 9, 2021
Roy was phoned by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in 1993, and accepted his £3.75 million offer to join the club; he wasn’t made a starter but his performance was still good, as he scored two goals in a game against Sheffield United. Roy and Manchester United won the Premier League title during his first year with them, while they then also won the FA Cup Final.
The 1994 season was less successful for Manchester, and Roy also received his first red card after stamping on British former professional player and now soccer manager Gareth Southgate; he was also fined £5,000 and suspended for three games. Roy received a total of 11 red cards during his time with Manchester.
David Beckham joined Manchester in 1995, as well as Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, and Manchester went on to win the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
Roy became the team’s captain in 1997, but had to skip the season because of a serious cruciate ligament injury. He returned for the 1998-1999 season, in which Manchester won the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and FA Premier League, as well as the Intercontinental Cup.
The team won another Premier League title in the 1999-2000 season, and Roy was named both the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.
Manchester failed to win a trophy for the first time in four years in the 2001-2002 season, and Roy was fined by Sir Alex Ferguson in the following season for elbowing Jason McAteer of Sutherland; he’d already been suspended for three games, as well as for another five for deliberately hitting Alfie Haaland a year earlier. Manchester won another Premier League title in 2003; Roy left the team unexpectedly on 18 November 2005.
He signed with Celtic on 15 December 2005, and they won both the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Premier League; Roy announced his retirement from professional soccer on 12 June 2006.
Coaching career
Roy became the manager of Sunderland on 28 August 2006, signing a three-year contract with the Championship club; they were holding the second bottom place at the table, and Roy thus had to make quick changes.
Sunderland won their first two games, and they then also went on to win the Championship, with Roy being named Championship Manager of the Year; Sunderland was thus promoted to the Premier League.
Roy left the team on 4 December 2008, and signed a two-year contract with Ipswich Town on 23 April 2009, but was fired on 7 January 2011.
It was revealed on 5 November 2013 that Roy had become the assistant manager of Republic of Ireland’s national soccer team, and then also of Aston Villa in the English Premiere League.
Roy quit Aston Villa on 28 November 2014 but remained with the Republic of Ireland; he signed with Nottingham Forest in January 2019, but quit in June of the same year.
Love life and marriage
Roy rarely talks about his love life in interviews, and there’s only a single woman whom he’s been with, that we know about.
He and British dentist Theresa Doyle met in 1992, however, even though it was love at first sight for Roy, Theresa was seeing someone at the time. The two began dating after Theresa and her boyfriend split in 1993, and she and Roy exchanged vows in a small and private ceremony in 1997.
They have five children together: Alanna, Leah, Aidan, Caragh and Shannon; they initially lived in a four-bedroom house in Bowdon, England, prior to moving to Hale, England. In 2009, they settled in Woodbridge, England.
Roy’s married to Theresa Doyle as of August 2023, and they have five children together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Roy’s a huge lover of animals, and his pet Labrador Retriever dog Triggs died from cancer in 2012.
He published his first autobiography “Keane: The Autobiography” in 2002, authored by ghost writer Eamon Dunphy, and his second autobiography “The Second Half” followed in October 2014, ghostwritten by Roddy Doyle.
Even though Roy stated that he wasn’t interested in becoming a pundit following his retirement, he eventually changed his mind and became the ITV chief soccer analyst in 2011; since September 2019, he’s been working at Sky Sports.
Roy’s fan-made Instagram page is today followed by close to 20,000 people, and he’s uploaded over 1,100 pictures and videos onto the network; most were taken while he was still a professional soccer player.
Samuel L. Jackson’s one of his favorite actors, and some of Roy’s favorite movies include “Die Hard with a Vengeance”, “Snakes on a Plane” and “Black Snake Moan”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Roy’s age is 51. He has brown eyes and hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.78m) tall and weighs around 175lbs (80kgs).
Roy’s net worth’s been estimated at over $60 million, as of August 2023.
