Factbox on midfielder Roy Keane, who announced his retirement from international soccer on Friday:

1971 - Born 10 August in Cork, Ireland.

1980s - Plays for Cork club Cobh Ramblers.

1990 - Signed by Nottingham Forest in England [Images] for 10,000 pounds ($15,540).

1991 - Wins first of 66 Ireland caps against Chile.

1993 - Joins Manchester United [Images] for a then British record transfer fee of 3.75 million pounds ($5.83 million).

1994 - Wins double of Premier League and FA Cup with United.

Plays for Ireland in World Cup finals in United States.

1996 - Wins another league and cup double with United.

1997 - United retain league title.

1999 - Captains United during their treble-winning season of premier league, FA Cup and Champions League, although he misses European Cup final against Bayern Munich through suspension.

2000 - Leads United to another league title. Voted player of year by both fellow professionals and football writers.

2001 - Sent off during derby against Manchester City for bad foul on Norway's Alf Inge Haaland. Captains United to third league title in row.

2002 - Signs new four-year contract with United. The team fail to win a trophy, finishing third in premier league behind Arsenal [Images] and Liverpool and losing in the Champions League semi-finals to Bayer Leverkusen.

May - Keane walks out on Ireland's World Cup squad in South Korea before tournament starts after row with manager Mick McCarthy.

August - Reveals in autobiography his intent to injure Haaland with "revenge" tackle in previous season and is charged by FA with bringing game into disrepute.

September - Undergoes surgery on troublesome hip.

October - Found guilty on two charges of disrepute, suspended for five matches and fined.

2003 - Leads United to eighth premier league title.

2004 - March - Banned for one match by UEFA [Images] for stamping on Porto keeper Vitor Baia during United's 2-1 Champions League defeat in Portugal.

May - Lifts fourth FA Cup title in win over second division Millwall, setting a modern record with his sixth appearance in the final.

Ends his international exile by returning for Ireland, under coach Brian Kerr, in a 1-0 friendly win over Romania.

2005 May - United fail to win a trophy, losing in FA Cup final to Arsenal, while Chelsea win Premier League.

September 29 - Says he expects to leave United at end of season to continue playing for another club, possibly in another country.

October 14 - Announces retirement from international soccer after Ireland fail to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals.

• Complete football coverage