Roy Keane is so frightening, a Man Utd teammate refused to go to his house for dinner

A former Manchester United goalkeeper has revealed he turned down going to Roy Keane's house because he was 'frightened' of him.

The former Republic of Ireland international spent 12 years at Old Trafford and captained the side from 1997 until his departure in 2005.

Keane demanded maximum effort in training from every player, no matter who you were. He was Sir Alex Ferguson reincarnated on the pitch, a reason why the duo won 17 honours together.

The midfielder had a temper, but it came from a good place in regard to his teammates. It's something Tim Howard found out about after moving to United in 2003.

Howard moved to United from New York Red Bulls, having never experienced a player like Keane in his life. During an appearance on Ben Foster's Fozcast, the USMNT legend delved into his experiences at United.

"When you talk about one standout player, never saw it before, never saw it again. Roy Keane as a captain was just cut from a different cloth," Howard claimed.

"Like most players, I was definitely afraid of him, but I've learned that he's just an amazing human being. But I used to be afraid of him, I remember to begin in training he would lay into me."

When Howard originally left the United States, he did so without his wife. Keane soon picked up on that and attempted to extend an olive branch to Howard.

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He continued: "And when I first moved, my wife went back to the United States briefly and I was on my own for a week, and he asked if I wanted to come over and have some dinner with him.

"I just made an excuse not to go, I was like 'there is no way I'm having dinner at your house, I am frightened to death of you.' But this is what I'm saying, he just cares, he cares a lot."

During his time at United, Howard won the 2004 FA Cup and 2006 League Cup. He joined Everton on a season-long loan later that year before putting pen to paper on a permanent contract in 2007.

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Keane, meanwhile, left United in November 2005 after a huge falling out with Ferguson.

He joined Celtic in 2006 but retired later that year due to injuries.

Following stints in management with Sunderland and Ipswich Town, Keane started a career in punditry.

He regularly appears on Sky Sports and will be part of ITV's World Cup coverage in Qatar.

Topics: Roy Keane, Manchester United

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_