OneFootball.com:
Franz Beckenbauer hinted on Monday that he could try again to sign Roy Keane, who has so far refused to extend his contract with Manchester United beyond 2003.
"We had talks with Keane two years ago," said the Kaiser.
Now Beckenbauer has admitted being behind a Bayern bid for the Republic of Ireland star in 2000. "When we found out his contract was up two years ago, we met Keane and had talks with him," said the Germany legend.
"He was interested, but maybe Manchester United offered him more money than we did, I don't know."
Beckenbauer went on to heap praise on Keane, whom he fears could cause problems for Group E opponents Germany at the World Cup. "Keane is unique," he said. "He is all over the pitch. He is a leader with fantastic technique and he scores goals.
"He is one of the best players in the world. For Ireland, he is more than the captain, he is the team. A great character and leader. I followed the qualification games, especially the 1-0 win over Holland, and felt Ireland deserved to go through automatically.
"For Germany it will be a very difficult game as Ireland are on the same level as Germany, Spain and other teams going into the finals. For me, Argentina and France are at the top level."
Keane's agent Michael Kennedy: "He has got 18 months to go yet, so it's still early days," he said.
The £52,000-a-week contract runs until the end of next season, but while Kennedy admitted some talks have taken place, he acknowledged a new deal has not been thrashed out.
"There have been some preliminary discussions, but there is a long way to go yet. It could be six months before it is completed," he said.
Keane, 30, has said he wants to remain at United, although his desire to play for Celtic is well-known.
<img src="graemlins/nervous.gif" border="0" alt="[Nervous]" /> <img src="graemlins/houllier.gif" border="0" alt="[Houllier]" /> <img src="graemlins/annoyed.gif" border="0" alt="[Annoyed]" /> It would be criminal if both Keane and Beckham left United - especially on a free !
Get it sorted United. <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[No No]" />
Franz Beckenbauer hinted on Monday that he could try again to sign Roy Keane, who has so far refused to extend his contract with Manchester United beyond 2003.
"We had talks with Keane two years ago," said the Kaiser.
Now Beckenbauer has admitted being behind a Bayern bid for the Republic of Ireland star in 2000. "When we found out his contract was up two years ago, we met Keane and had talks with him," said the Germany legend.
"He was interested, but maybe Manchester United offered him more money than we did, I don't know."
Beckenbauer went on to heap praise on Keane, whom he fears could cause problems for Group E opponents Germany at the World Cup. "Keane is unique," he said. "He is all over the pitch. He is a leader with fantastic technique and he scores goals.
"He is one of the best players in the world. For Ireland, he is more than the captain, he is the team. A great character and leader. I followed the qualification games, especially the 1-0 win over Holland, and felt Ireland deserved to go through automatically.
"For Germany it will be a very difficult game as Ireland are on the same level as Germany, Spain and other teams going into the finals. For me, Argentina and France are at the top level."
Keane's agent Michael Kennedy: "He has got 18 months to go yet, so it's still early days," he said.
The £52,000-a-week contract runs until the end of next season, but while Kennedy admitted some talks have taken place, he acknowledged a new deal has not been thrashed out.
"There have been some preliminary discussions, but there is a long way to go yet. It could be six months before it is completed," he said.
Keane, 30, has said he wants to remain at United, although his desire to play for Celtic is well-known.
<img src="graemlins/nervous.gif" border="0" alt="[Nervous]" /> <img src="graemlins/houllier.gif" border="0" alt="[Houllier]" /> <img src="graemlins/annoyed.gif" border="0" alt="[Annoyed]" /> It would be criminal if both Keane and Beckham left United - especially on a free ! Get it sorted United. <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[No No]" />
