AS A player and manager Republic of Ireland international Roy Keane ranked among the most feared and respected in the beautiful game.
As a pundit and person, however, Keane cuts an entirely different figure.
While the outspoken Irishman rarely shies away from a barbed comment or two, colleagues like Micah Richards have been able to get the Cork native to crack a smile every now and then.
And now Keane has joined the ranks of Instagram, it would appear that the midfield hardman is eager to show a softer side to his media persona.
The football icon announced his arrival on Instagram with an adorable picture of himself out and about with his beloved pet dog.
Now Keane has gone one step further with a post marking St Valentine’s Day.
Eager to mark a day in which loved ones the world over come together for moments of kindness and affection; the Irishman shared a brilliant photo from his playing days alongside an inspired cation.
The fiery snap was taken from his days playing for Nottingham Forst at the start of his career against West Ham.
Football was a little different back then, with players only too happy to put the “contact” into contact sport with a series of in-your-face encounters.
In this instance, the photograph captured Keane being , for lack of a better word, “throttled” while, in true form, he gives as good as he gets.
The post is accompanied with a simple yet brilliant message for fans: "Don’t forget to show some love today".
It came on a weekend in which Keane sent fans into meltdown after joining Instagram.
The decision comes despite Keane previously claiming he would have been “in prison” if social media had existed during his playing career.
Posting under the username officialkeane16, the retired midfielder has racked up more than a million followers at the time of writing.
Keane has been an outspoken critic of social media and modern footballers indulging in camera phones and other online activity.
Asked how he would have handled social media as a player, Keane quipped: “I’d be in prison now, definitely!
“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!”
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