3. He Agreed To Sign For Blackburn Before Signing For Man Utd
Roy Keane puts himself across as a man of his word, a man of morals and straight-shooting, but this Manchester United legend wasnt actually supposed to move to Old Trafford at all if things were ran a little smoother at Blackburn Rovers. In the 1992/93 season, Keane was starting to make a name for himself at Nottingham Forest. Forest would end up getting relegated that season, although Keane was voted their Player of the Season. With a relegation release clause in his contract, Keane was set to move on from the City Ground for pastures now. Free spending Blackburn came in and had a £4 million offer accepted by Forest. Keane would even agree a contract with Rovers. Where things took a turn for the worst for Blackburn is that they didnt actually have the correct paperwork to complete the transfer. This all happened on a Friday afternoon and the clubs office had been locked up for the weekend. Manager Kenny Dalglish had a verbal agreement with Keane to join Blackburn, and the plan was for the contract to be signed on the following Monday morning. Ever the opportunist, Alex Ferguson got wind of what had gone on. Luckily for Man Utd, they had an office that actually didnt close for business randomly on a Friday afternoon, and so in swiped Fergie to take Keane to Old Trafford. Ferguson rang Keane directly to discuss the possible move, then the pair met on the Saturday morning and the paperwork was completed for Keane to move to Man Utd for a then British transfer record of £3.75 million. As a result, Keane got a slightly irate phone call from Dalglish.
