One of the best midfielders in the world has just left the most famous soccer club on earth, Manchester United. By “mutual consent,” Roy Keane is no longer with Man U effective immediatedly. He recently had a falling out with the club’s boss, the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, and will now ply his trade elsewhere.
While Keane plays with a sense of passion and commitment that is truly rare, and while his drive to win is remarkable, I think his legacy, even if he continues playing (he’s in his twilight years at 34), will finally be this: He was a player of monumental ability who lacked moral guidance and failed to subdue his inner demons (he fell victim to booze, depression, and his own blinding rage).
Never forget, for example, that he let his team and his country down when, as the side’s most important player, he got himself dismissed from the Ireland squad just before the last World Cup.
Goodbye, Roy Keane. You could have been so, so great. But you ultimately flattered to deceive.