The former Manchester United player says in his autobiography that Butragueño called him in 2005 but that he refused to join Real Madrid because of his "fear of the unknown".

Keane said that he regretted refusing the offer, although the most surprising thing was the circumstances surrounding the call he received from 'Los Blancos',

As Keane reveals in his book 'The Second Half', his then representative, Michael Kennedy, notified him that he would receive a call from Emilio Butragueño, the Real Madrid director of football.

"Michael had given me a heads-up that Emilio Butragueño would be phoning, so I took my mobile phone everywhere with me. And - how's your luck - he rang me while I was sitting on the toilet", Keane explains.

The Irishman, who was close to retiring as a player in 2005, says that he turned the move down because of his "fear of the unknown", perhaps it could even be said he was scared out of his wits. "I should have appreciated Real's offer more. It was the most attractive challenge in front of me but I didn't accept it. In hindsight, I should have said to myself: 'Go, go to Spain, live there for a year and a half, learn the language, learn the culture", he continues.

"I took a negative approach. The weather and the training might have given me another lease of life, another two years of playing. As much as anything else, it was fear that decided me - fear of the unknown", explains the former player.