Former Celtic midfielder Roy Keane is preparing to ditch the UK and move overseas.
Keane, who spent the lion’s share of his illustrious career at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, clinched numerous top honours. His unexpected exit in 2005 led him to Celtic, which proved to be the final club of his playing career.
Post hanging up his boots in the summer of 2006, Keane ventured into management with stints at Sunderland and Ipswich Town. Since leaving Ipswich in January 2011, he has held coaching roles with Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Ireland, while he’s recently been linked with the Hibernian job with David Gray under increasing pressure.
But for now, he’s fully focused on his media work with Sky Sports and ITV. A regular face on The Overlap, Keane, while on their recent On Tour episode in Turin, confided to Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright and Gary Neville about his plan to possibly settle in a new country.
“In the next couple of years, I reckon I will be moving abroad… putting it out there,” he declared to the group.
When probed by Carragher about his potential new home, Keane responded: “Do you know what, Switzerland, maybe? Switzerland is beautiful.”
In August, Keane had expressed his plan to step away from punditry within the next decade. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast with Sky Bet, he expressed his frustrations with the job, saying: “I love football, but the hassle of matches, getting to games, and the hassle of fans.
“I was in court a few months ago with somebody headbutting me – do you think I enjoy that side of it? Absolutely not. The games are fine. Getting to the games, parking up, people shouting your name good stuff, bad stuff – it’s a nuisance. Being a pundit in 10 years, not.”
Keane was assaulted by Scott Law, 43, following a match between Arsenal and United at the Emirates in September 2023. After the case went to trial, Law, a Gunners supporter from Essex, was banned from entering a football ground for three years.
The incident began as Keane and fellow Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards were making their way pitchside to conduct post-match analysis, with the ex-Ireland international being headbutted through doors by Law.
A judge ruled Law had been “untruthful about what happened” and he was found guilty of assault. As well as the three-year banning order, he was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay legal costs of £650 plus a victim surcharge of £114.