Roy Keane has claimed in his soon to be released book that Manchester United’s signing Cristiano Ronaldo was sealed when John O’Shea played like a f—— clown’ against him in the summer of 2003.
Ronaldo, who would go onto join the Red Devils that summer as an 18 year old, made the move to Manchester for £12.25 million, after impressing against United whilst playing for Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were looking for a new number seven, with the shirt being vacated by David Beckham that summer, as the former England captain joined Real Madrid.
And Keane has revealed that the deal was struck up following O’Shea’s poor performance against Ronaldo in that friendly in Lisbon that summer.
“We were playing Sporting Lisbon to celebrate the opening of their stadium,” Keane said. “I saw how good Ronaldo was that day.
“He was up against John O’Shea. Sheasy ended up seeing the doctor at half time because he was actually having dizzy spells.
“The club concluded negotiations after the game and we always joked with Sheasy he had actually sealed the deal by playing like a f—— clown.
“In fairness to him, he was jet-lagged [from American Tour] like the rest of us.”
Ronaldo spent six years at Old Trafford, winning several personal, domestic and European trophies following a prolonged spell in Manchester, before departing for a then record £80 million to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009.
by Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1
