Roy Keane didn’t sign Robbie Savage because he didn’t like his voicemail message

Here’s a fun story from when Roy Keane managed Sunderland and veteran midfielder Robbie Savage was on the fringe of the squad at Blackburn Rovers, via The Guardian. Emphasis ours.

“I rang Mark Hughes. Robbie [Savage] wasn’t in the Blackburn team and I asked Mark if we could try to arrange a deal. Sparky said: ‘Yeah, yeah, he’s lost his way here but he could still do a job for you.‘ Robbie’s legs were going a bit but I thought he might come up to us [at Sunderland], with his long hair, and give us a lift - the way Yorkie [Dwight Yorke] had, a big personality in the dressing room. Sparky gave me permission to give him a call. So I got Robbie’s mobile number and rang him. It went to his voicemail: ‘Hi, it’s Robbie - whazzup!’ like the Budweiser ad. I never called him back. I thought: ‘I can’t be fucking signing that.’”

If you’ve ever heard Robbie Savage on BBC Radio 5 Live or seen him on Match of the Day, you know he’s a giant smartass who doesn’t care much for what anyone thinks of him, so his response was predictable.

Robbie Savage went on to play for Derby County, while Roy Keane went on to get fired. Could have used Savage in midfield, Keano.