- Roy Keane claimed he quit smoking cigarettes at age 11
- His decision to quit was apparently inspired by watching the 1982 World Cup.
- Keane represented Manchester United 480 times in a glittering career.
Former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane has claimed he quit smoking at the age of 11.
Keane grew up in Cork before moving to England in his late teens to join Nottingham Forest.
He recently revealed during an appearance on Overlap’s Stick to Football Podcast that he and his friends used to smoke the occasional cigarette until he was inspired to quit while watching the 1982 World Cup on television.
During the episode, podcast host Gary Neville read out a question from a listener who asked: “Which tournament did you fall in love with football at?”
Neville answered the question himself: “The 1982 World Cup. Bryan Robson scored the goal. I remember coming home from school and watching it.”
Roy Keane recently told The Overlap that he quit smoking cigarettes at the age of 11.
Keane said he decided to quit after being inspired by watching the 1982 World Cup, which was won by an Italy team that included Paolo Rossi (left) and Claudio Gentile (right).
Keane was photographed imitating the act of smoking while telling his story on The Overlap podcast
Keane joined in, saying: “I agree 100 per cent. The 1982 World Cup was amazing. I remember we used to play football after the games in the evenings.
‘In 1982, I was probably 11 years old. I was with my friends and we played football and occasionally smoked the odd cigarette when we were about 11 years old.
‘I was playing and they said to me: ‘Are you going to have this?’ And I remember saying to them: ‘I’m leaving you. I’m leaving you. I want to be a footballer. I’m leaving you, boys.’
Keane’s story, told with a mischievous grin, greatly amused his fellow panellists Neville, Jill Scott and especially Ian Wright.
Italy won the 1982 World Cup in Spain, beating West Germany 3-1 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.
England, Scotland and Northern Ireland were among the 24 teams that took part in the tournament.
Ian Wright (left) couldn’t help but laugh as Keane told the story of how he quit smoking.
England’s Bryan Robson (left) and West Germany’s Uli Stielike (right) pictured in action in 1982
Scotland were eliminated during the first group stage, before England and Northern Ireland were eliminated at the end of the second stage.
The Golden Boot was won by Italian striker Paolo Rossi.