Roy Keane makes famous return for Man Utd in charity match against Liverpool

Roy Keane returned to the pitch in Manchester United colours in a legends match against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

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The former club captain, who spent 12 years at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson, appeared alongside fellow club greats Jaap Stam, Denis Irwin, Ronny Johnsen, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick among others on Merseyside for the Legends of the North contest.

Keane entered the fray after 75 minutes, replacing Darron Gibson in midfield and was inevitably greeted to a chorus of boos from the home crowd.

United fell to a 2-1 defeat despite leading in the first half through a first-half goal from Berbatov.

Former Reds Mark Gonzalez and Florent Sinama Pongolle struck in the second period to seal a 2-1 on the day and a 5-2 win on aggregate, having beaten United 3-1 at Old Trafford in the first leg of the charity series in May.

It was a quiet cameo from Keane who has been open over his struggles with old injuries since retiring, recently revealing he has been unable to feature in similar charity matches over the years.

‘I’m not fit. I’m far from fit. My fitness levels are actually very, very embarrassing,’ he told Off The Ball in the summer.

‘Just because I’ve not put on loads of weight doesn’t mean to say I’m fit. I wouldn’t really be able to do any running.

‘Put it this way, I’ve been invited a number of times over the last few years to play legends games or whatever you want to call it.

‘I’d find it really difficult because I wouldn’t be able to get around. Too many injury problems.’

Keane was back at the same ground that turned out to be the venue for his final game as a United player in September 2005, forced off injured following a clash with Steven Gerrard.

Keane would sign for Celtic in December that year before retiring from football the following summer at 36.

The former Republic of Ireland star moved into the dugout, managing Sunderland and Ipswich Town while also serving as assistant manager at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and for the Irish national team.

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