Manchester United legend Gary Neville has named how much he thinks a prime version of Roy Keane would be worth in today’s transfer market.
Gary Neville and Roy Keane played alongside one another at Old Trafford and both Manchester United legends saw incredible success under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Roy Keane excelled as a box-to-box midfielder at United and made a lasting impact as club captain after he inherited the armband from fellow legend Eric Cantona.
Despite his influence in the United team, Keane’s spell at Old Trafford came to a sudden end in 2005 after Sir Alex Ferguson ruthlessly axed him from the club.
Gary Neville stepped up as club captain at United after Keane’s departure, with the United legend seeing out the remainder of his career as skipper under Ferguson.
Keane, who is considered one of the best captains of all time, lifted seven Premier League titles, a Champions League and four FA Cups during his spell at United.
Neville, meanwhile, bowed out of Old Trafford in 2011 after winning eight Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, three FA Cups and three League Cups.
The 49-year-old former United defender spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford, so Neville never commanded a transfer fee during his time as a player.
Keane, however, was a British record transfer at the time of his arrival at United, with the Red Devils agreeing a £3.75m fee to sign him from Nottingham Forest in 1993.
Neville names Keane’s transfer value
Gary Neville and Roy Keane appeared on the latest episode of the Stick to Football show on The Overlap alongside Arsenal legend Ian Wright and Jill Scott.
During an exchange between Neville and Keane, Jill Scott interjected after she learned how much United paid Nottingham Forest for the Irishman.
Speaking to Keane, Scott then asked: “How much do you think you’d be worth now?”
Ian Wright initially poked fun at Keane by suggesting that he would be worth “£3.77m,” with the United legend laughing in response.
Keane showed little interest in naming a price tag on himself and tried to move the conversation on before Neville circled back on Scott’s original question.
Neville pointed to the initial £100m fee that Arsenal paid West Ham for Declan Rice last summer, with the Sky Sports pundit claiming Keane would be worth the same.
“What was Declan Rice? £100m. You’d be [worth] £100m [today],” Neville told Keane.
“Thought so,” Keane said, before taking a sip of his drink.
How much would Keane be worth today?
According to a report in The Athletic in 2022, Keane’s £3.75m fee would cost a whopping £94.2m in the modern transfer market.
Keane had previously expressed his frustrations over the inflated values in today’s transfer market while he was the Republic of Ireland assistant manager.
“It’s mind-boggling, the figures that are out there – especially for the average players,” he said in 2017.
“If ever there was a time to be a professional player, it’s now. Average players are going for £35m. My goodness.
“I don’t really analyse it too much, but that’s the marketplace at the moment. There aren’t many top players out there. The really big players are going for big money and it’s filtering down now.
“When average players are going for £30-40m, it does make you scratch your head. But if the clubs are prepared to pay that, then it’s not the players’ fault.”