REPUBLIC OF Ireland football icon Roy Keane has revealed his softer side after stunning fans and colleagues by joining Instagram.
The Manchester United legend has been a vocal critic of social media as a pundit on Sky Sports.
However, the Irishman has defied his previous stance to set up his very own account on the popular photo sharing site.
A verified account with the username officialkeane16 appeared on Friday, February 12.
The 49-year-old has wasted no time in posting via his new profile with a heartwarming snap of the Corkman alongside one of his dogs.
“A man’s best friend,” the caption accompanying the post reads.
Keane has also included a picture of himself as a child as part of his profile avatar.
At the time of writing the former midfield enforcer had racked up more than 899,000 followers.
The Irishman’s arrival on Instagram has been greeted with a mixture of bemusement and delight among his fellow ex-professionals and Sky Sports pundits.
Jamie Carragher shared a screenshot of the profile on Twitter alongside staring eyes emojis.
Another of his Sky Sports colleagues, Micah Richards, also weighed in, commenting “He’s here” alongside a series of crying laughing emojis.
Asked whether the account was genuine, Richards wrote: “I can confirm it’s the real @officialkeane16.
“He was told nobody will agree to make our road trip series unless he’s on @instagram so here he is!!!
“You can also expect behind the scenes footage of my kitman duties when he gets a job again.”
Keane previously joked that Richards would serve as his kitman rather than assistant if he ever returned to management.
Former Manchester United teammate Phil Neville is already following Keane while Tim Cahill has also given his seal of approval to the new arrival.
An outspoken opponent of social media and camera phones, Keane was previously asked how he would handle social media as a player.
“I’d be in prison now, definitely,” he said.
“It’s a nightmare. The worst scenario is people with phones wanting pictures but that’s part of the deal.
“I bump into a lot of idiots!”
