Roy Keane only ever asked one player to swap shirts with him during his career – but was turned down.
Between 1993 and 2005, Keane made over 450 appearances for Manchester United, patrolling the midfield as one of the most feared players in the Premier League.
He served as captain for eight of those years, and his capable leadership set the stage for United to win ten trophies during that period, including four Premier League titles and the 1999 Champions League.
Since Keane was a tough midfielder before becoming a Sky Sports commentator, it may not surprise many that he disliked trading shirts with the opposition following a game.
Early in his career, the Irishman did, however, make one noteworthy exception, but the athlete rejected him.
Keane recalled how the Republic of Ireland beat Germany in a friendly before the 1994 World Cup in an interview with former United teammate Gary Neville on The Overlap in 2021.
At the age of 22, Keane made the decision to ask Mathias Sammer, a midfielder and sweeper for Germany, for his shirt.
Sammer would go on to win the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, but knee issues caused him to retire at the age of thirty.
He recalled: “I’ve asked one player to swap a jersey – which I regret – when we played Germany with Ireland. Once, to swap a player from Germany, the pre-94 World Cup. We played Germany in a friendly.
“After the game, we beat them, and I was being polite. The sweeper, Sammer. And he said ‘No’. I went, ‘F**k’.
“Anyway, that was it. I thought, ‘I shouldn’t be asking anyway’. But I was just being polite – if I really wanted a jersey, I’d have gone Zidane or somebody.
“So after that I just went, ‘You know what, it’s stupid swapping shirts, really’.
“I remember we played Zidane with United, and after the Madrid game, we were walking up … I was looking at him, he was looking at me. I was thinking, ‘Ah, he’s probably going to ask me’. But no, we didn’t. And I’m glad. That’s the only other time where I thought, but nah, leave it.”
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