Roy Keane reveals he moved into punditry after reading his horoscope

• Roy Keane has revealed his horoscope advised him to move into punditry
• ITV offered him the chance to be a studio guest for 2011 final at Wembley
• Keane, who’d not long been sacked by Ipswich, was in two minds over the offer
• But his horoscope that day advised him not to turn down opportunities
• Ex-Man United captain would become ITV’s chief pundit the following season 

Roy Keane has revealed he made his big move into punditry because of advice from his horoscope.

The former Manchester United captain is now a no-nonsense pundit for ITV and Sky Sports who has gained a reputation for not pulling punches with his opinions.

But back in 2011, Keane was in need of a new direction a few months after being sacked as Ipswich Town manager.

When ITV offered him the chance to be a studio guest for their coverage of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona at Wembley, Keane was in two minds.

But, as he revealed at the live show of Sky’s Overlap recently, there was a timely intervention.

Keane, whose August 10 birthday makes him a Leo, said: ‘I was never that bothered about it. When you’re playing, you’re in the zone and I never took too much notice of what people were saying.

‘I kind of just fell into it really when I just left Ipswich. United were in the Champions League final at Wembley and ITV got in touch asking if I would do a game.

‘I was in my house in Ipswich thinking “will I, won’t I?” This is true, I think it was the Monday, a few days before the final, and they wanted an answer quickly.

‘I read my horoscope that day and it said “you can’t keep saying no to people” so I said “I’ll do it”. I don’t mind just giving my opinion and then going home.’

Keane duly appeared in the ITV studio alongside presenter Adrian Chiles, Harry Redknapp and Gareth Southgate as Barcelona beat United 3-1 to win the Champions League.

Keane had stamped on Southgate during the 1995 FA Cup semi-final, earning himself a red card.

The following season, Keane became ITV’s chief football analyst and regularly appeared on their Champions League coverage alongside Chiles and Southgate.

At Euro 2012, Keane appeared alongside long-time nemesis Patrick Vieira on ITV’s live coverage. In 2019, he started working for Sky Sports as well.

It represented a big about-turn for Keane, who’d been scathing of punditry when asked about it in 2008 and said ‘I’d rather go to the dentist.’

Sir Alex Ferguson’s United were outclassed by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team in the 2011 final. Though Wayne Rooney cancelled out Pedro’s opening goal in the first-half, strikes from Lionel Messi and David Villa won the trophy for Barcelona.