Roy Keane reveals why he chose to wear 16 on his shirt at Man Utd after Sir Alex Ferguson offered him a different number

Roy Keane has explained the reasons why he chose ‘16’ as his shirt number while playing for Manchester United.

Keane, 53, is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and finished his career with seven Premier League crowns, four FA Cup wins and a Champions League - as well as winning the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup during his season-long spell at Celtic.

Following his 2006 retirement, Keane managed Sunderland to the 2006/07 Championship title - gaining promotion to the top flight .

He also endured a less successful spell as manager of Ipswich Town and has since been part of ITV and Sky Sports’ football coverage.

The Cork-born former centre-midfielder was known for his blend of combative but classy play.

Traditionally, centre-midfielders wear ‘6,’ ‘8,’ or ‘10’.

However, unusually, he wore the number ‘16’ for most of his time at Old Trafford, and the 53-year-old explained the reasons behind his choice of number.

The former Ireland international had worn the number ‘6,’ ‘8,’ ‘9’ and ‘11’ during his time at Nottingham Forest between 1990 and 1993.

“Well, I didn’t choose it [the number], no,” Keane explained when speaking to Ian Wright and Gary Neville during an episode of The Overlap brought to you by Sky Bet.

“When I went to [Manchester] United, my squad number was 16…just my training number,” he explained.

“Then when the number come in, and I just said, ‘I’ll stay [with] my squad number.”

“And the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson], when Eric [Cantona] left, he said, ‘I want you to have the number seven,” Keane added.

“I said, ‘No, No…give it to Becks [David Beckham].

“And Ferguson went, ‘I don’t f*****g want him to have it.”

The group of ex-footballers, which also included guest Daniele De Rossi, were expecting a more complex answer, with the 2006 World Cup-winning midfielder saying: “Invent something, invent something,” while the others laughed along.

The group were enjoying a meal together in a traditional Italian restaurant in the country’s capital, Rome.

De Rossi is a long-time admirer of the Irishman and even credited him as one of the reasons he, too, wore the number 16 during his playing days.

“He’s my all-time idol,” the Italian told AS Roma’s official website in 2016.

“Besides Gaia (my daughter, who was born on the 16th), I wear 16 because of him.”