By Cathal Dervan

Roy Keane’s career as a Manchester United player, captain and legend ended with a brief statement released on the club’s website on Friday morning.

Just weeks after the Corkman publicly ridiculed his fellow players in an MUTV interview that was later pulled by the club, Keane was summonsed to an Old Trafford showdown with manager Alex Ferguson.

The former Ireland international, accompanied by his solicitor Michael Kennedy, was told to pack his bags and had his contract terminated “by mutual consent,” bringing an end to his 12 1/2 years at United.

The end of Keane’s relationship with Ferguson bore a striking resemblance to events in Saipan in the 2002 World Cup when then Ireland boss Mick McCarthy had to choose between the player and the team, and did exactly as Ferguson did last Friday.

United stressed afterwards that the exit was amicable but the papers since have been full of stories about rows between Ferguson, his assistant Carloz Quieroz, the other United players and Keane since that infamous interview that was deemed too hot to screen.

Just hours after the meeting Ferguson refused to expand on the events of Friday morning. Asked if he had anything to add regarding Keane, he said, “No, no. There was a very amicable meeting with Roy.

“I said he was a fantastic player for this club, my best player in my time here and one of the best players at the club in its history, and we wished each other well.”

By Monday, though, Ferguson did admit that the decision to end Keane’s association with the club had been a difficult one despite all their recent problems.

Speaking before the Champions League clash with Villareal at Old Trafford, Ferguson said, “Players get older. This is the horrible part when you are manager of one club for a long time.

“You have to make changes in a quicker fashion than other clubs can because the demands of our club are great. When we make decisions it is not for any other reason than to get better and to keep this club at the top. It’s always sad when a great player departs the scenes of his triumph, but football does not stand still.

“Sometimes you have to grasp the nettle. This is an occasion where we have to show what we are.”

Asked if he could explain to the fans why Keane left, the United boss added, “I’m sure they are interested, and I’m interested, too but I know Roy would be the first to agree that we must all focus on the match.

“I am not worried about a negative reaction from the fans. The great quality of Manchester United fans means that their support is not just about today but the whole history of our club.

“Go back four or five decades, it is not by accident that after we lost the team in 1958, the shirt for the FA Cup final had a phoenix on the badge. This club rises all the time.”

New United captain Ruud Van Nistelrooy has admitted he is still coming to terms with the sudden departure of Keane.

Van Nistelrooy was handed Keane’s armband for Saturday’s game at Charlton and celebrated with two goals in a 3-1 win.

But he confessed afterwards that the Keane exit has yet to fully sink in. “It was a big shock,” said Van Nistelrooy.

“Roy will always be remembered as the greatest player who’s played for the club. His leadership and quality of play and his character will always be within us because I worked with him and trained with him for four and a half years, and he was the best player I ever played with, and it’s just a shame it stops now.

“I was pleased the fans sang about Roy at Charlton because he is one of the greatest players in this club’s history and certainly the best one in my time at Manchester United,” said Ferguson.

Real Madrid’s Thomas Gravesen and Bayern Munich’s Michael Ballack are two of the contenders United could sign to replace Keane when the transfer window opens in January.