Sir Alex Ferguson Made Unprecedented Move When Naming “Top-Class” Roy Keane Heir

Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly made an unprecedented move when naming Roy Keane's successor.

Irishman Keane enjoyed a stellar career playing under Ferguson at Old Trafford.

During his time as a Red Devil, Keane lifted seven Premier League titles and one Champions League, four FA Cups, four FA Community Shields and one Intercontinental Cup.

In total, Keane made 480 appearances across all competitions, scoring 51 goals.

Back in 2005, Keane left United to join Celtic, for whom he played 13 times before calling time on his illustrious career.

At the time, Ferguson was on the lookout for Keane's replacement, and according to The Guardian, he made an unprecedented move.

It was claimed that Ferguson 'normally goes to extreme lengths' to keep United's transfer targets away from the media.

However, the Scotsman spoke publicly about Michael Ballack, who at that time was linked with a move to Old Trafford.

Ferguson said: "He's a very good player, a top-class player. I admire him a lot."

However, despite being praised in public by Ferguson, Ballack did not move to United.

Instead, the German midfielder left Bundesliga side Bayern Munich to join Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer of 2006.

• If you want to see even more from SPORTbible, make us a preferred source on Google.

Michael Ballack in action for Chelsea. Image: Getty

Ballack went on to make 167 appearances for the Blues, scoring 26 goals.

The midfielder won one Premier League title, three FA Cups, one League Cup and one FA Community Shield during his stint at Stamford Bridge.

Ballack left Chelsea in 2010 and returned to Bayer Leverkusen. He then retired in 2012 and will forever be regarded as one of the finest players of his generation.

On the international stage, Ballack was capped 98 times by Germany, scoring 42 goals in the process.

Although he did not win anything with his country, Ballack was in the squad when Germany finished second in the 2002 World Cup.