ROY KEANE has reopened old wounds with Manchester United by accusing the club of betraying him. The Sunderland manager says he was told “certain things at certain meetings that were basic lies”.

Keane, one of United’s most influential players, left Old Trafford by mutual consent in November 2005 after a prolonged absence because of a foot injury, later joining Celtic. It was a period of tension between Keane and the management team, led by Sir Alex Ferguson.

In an interview with the Irish Times, Keane said: “The day I left United, in hindsight, I should have stopped playing really. I lost the love of the game that Friday morning. I thought football is cruel, life is cruel. It takes two to tango also. I am fully responsible for my own actions but some things are wrong.”

He added: “I left on the Friday morning and they told me certain things that day. I was told the following week I could not sign for another club. I had been led to believe I could. There were certain things I was told at certain meetings that were basic lies. That was part of the exit plans.”

Keane also accused United of getting his length of service wrong. He added: “They were thanking me for 11 and a half years. I had to remind the manager and chief executive [David Gill] I had been there 12 and a half years.”

Keane said that by the time he had actually gone, the club’s attitude had left him feeling he was glad to be out of it. He said: “Then the financial stuff was mentioned. I was thinking, my God, I am happy to leave. A week later they [United] announced £70m or £80m profit after telling me I hadn’t played for six weeks and so they weren’t prepared to do this and that. I told David Gill I’d broken my foot playing for United against Liverpool.

“I look back and think I should have said this and I should have said that. It is like Mick McCarthy [former Republic of Ireland manager] at the World Cup. When he said, ‘if you don’t have respect for me you can’t play for me’, I should have said to him what I felt - ‘I am not playing for you; I’m playing for Ireland’. It is easy to be wise afterwards.”