RUUD VAN NISTELROOY sent his apologies and Roy Keane fully understood. If ever there was a reminder of the cold realities of life at Manchester United it was this, a testimonial match that Keane would not have agreed to had he been allowed to leave on his own terms.

Keane talked of wanting “closure” and last night, five long months after his acrimonious departure, he got it, but Van Nistelrooy, the latest United legend to be exiled by Sir Alex Ferguson, is unlikely to be offered such a magnificent send-off, belated or otherwise.

If this transpires to be the final appearance in Keane’s illustrious career — as he hinted it would be when he talked of the “difficult” decision he faces over whether to see out the final year of an 18-month contract with Celtic — it was a happy one.

Striding the Old Trafford turf as imperiously as ever, he wore an impish smile throughout, particularly after trading the green-and-white hoops of Celtic for more familiar red at half-time, and led United to a 1-0 victory before leaving with his bottom lip quivering as he was lauded by an adoring 69,591 crowd.

Through it all, from a eulogy by Ferguson to the promise that charities would receive an undisclosed sum from the £2 million-plus proceeds, it was a heart-warming exercise. He claimed to have enjoyed it, saying “I surprised myself”. So much so, it seems, that he sounded ready to call time on his career, pending advice from doctors who will assess his hip injury in the days ahead. “I’m fairly relaxed about it,” Keane, 34, said. “I’m not fearful of it. I’ll make the right decision.”

This was a perfect finale, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the only goal early in the second half, but the match was played to a familiar backdrop of tension between Ferguson and a star player. Van Nistelrooy was nowhere to be seen, effectively banished for what the United manager called “a couple of incidents in training” that he claimed have jeopardised team spirit — a message almost identical to that conveyed in the autumn as Keane’s position at the club suddenly went from untouchable to untenable.

Ferguson acknowledged the Keane dispute in an otherwise glowing tribute in the match programme, admitting “it was not an easy parting of the ways for either of us” but dismissing “a lot of idle chatter into the whys and wherefores”.

This, though, is a message he has had to trot out with disturbing regularity in recent seasons. Keane, like Jaap Stam, Dwight Yorke, David Beckham and others before them, discovered that there is no way back once you cross Ferguson. Now Van Nistelrooy is preparing to be ushered out of United with indecent haste.

Van Nistelrooy broke his silence on the matter last night at Holland’s training camp outside Amsterdam. “It’s good to be here and try to get my mind off the situation, especially as I can’t be there tonight,” he said. “The fact that I can’t be there for the [testimonial] game is the most painful thing of all. I’ve spoken to Roy. I wanted to go there and respect Roy, but I wasn’t allowed to.”

Van Nistelrooy is also concerned that he is being hawked around to potential buyers. United are understood to be encouraging interest from two clubs in Spain — one of them Atlético Madrid, whose own star forward, Fernando Torres, is a player coveted by Ferguson — but Van Nistelrooy is unwilling to entertain a move to anything but a top club if, as now seems certain, he is forced out.