Former Manchester United midfielder and captain Roy Keane played a pivotal role in the club’s 2023-24 third kit unveiling; however, there is one part which has left a portion of viewers confused.

Understandably, those of a United persuasion were shocked – yet elated – that the once-tenacious Keane was involved.

After an extensive 18 years of not working in collaboration with the club, he has been snapped donning the fresh threads alongside current players Marcus Rashford, Lisandro Martínez and Ella Toone - all of whom feature in the video, too.

Keane, 51, signed from Nottingham Forest back in 1993 for a then British record fee of £3.75m and became a 12-year servant to the club.

In 2005, the former Red Devils hero left the club after letting his feelings known in a fiery MUTV interview – one in which he was heavily critical of his teammates at the time.

Although the footage never saw the light of day, it is believed that his scathing assessment of those at the club lead to his acrimonious exit.

While the best part of the United fan-base are enthused that Keane and the club he spent so many years at are back on good terms, the prawn sandwich reference has pricked the ears.

At the end of the promotional video, he makes a made a jovial probe at his prominent ‘prawn sandwich’ rant while shaking his head looking at a plate full of them. Classic Keano.

You can watch the brilliant video in full below, and make sure to look out for that sandwich reference!

Watch: Roy Keane’s involvement in the club’s kit unveiling

The former Republic of Ireland international added his own textbook Keane twist, placing the importance on playing for the badge as he claims the club “expects a lot”.

In return, you get to play for one of the biggest clubs in world football as Keane exclaims: “It’s Manchester United!”

The clip – quite unsurprisingly – has gone viral on the club’s official Twitter, though his involvement – in cryptic form - was teased the day before as a video of his silhouette walking towards the camera at Old Trafford was release on the club’s social media platforms.

Roy Keane’s famous prawn sandwich rant

As mentioned, the sight of the Sky Sports pundit looking distastefully at a place of prawn sandwiches brought the video to a close, which links back to a rant from the midfielder after his side’s 1-0 victory against Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv in 2000.

Back then, it was a must-win affair for the Red Devils as progression into the knockout stages entirely hinged on this sole fixture.

Following the win - now overshadowed by Keane's iconic rhetoric - the then-captain produced an outlandish rant towards the travelling support.

“Our fans away from home are as good as any, but some of them come here, and you have to wonder do they understand the game of football?” Keane said, via MailOnline.

“We’re 1-0 up, then there are one or two stray passes, and they’re getting on players’ backs. It’s just not on. At the end of the day, they need to get behind the team. Away from home out fans are fantastic, I’d call them the hardcore fans.

“But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don’t realise what’s going on out on the pitch.

“I don’t think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it. To win games by three and four every time – these people need fantasy football. They need to get in the real world.

“We need to improve because it is definitely going to get harder. It’s up to the players to pull their fingers out, especially away from home.”

The term ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ was born off the back of Keane’s rant as it lumped a certain type of fan into one group.

It is a derogatory term for those who attend football matches to purely enjoy the lavish life of luxury boxes and corporate hospitality rather than what they actually went to do – watch the football on offer.

Manchester United’s new third kit

Inspired by the club’s 1909 jersey when they won the FA Cup, the huge Red Devil – which is synonymously known as the symbol of the club – in place of the crest.

This is the first time this has happened in 50 years and marks an important place in the club’s long history as it echoes the very spirit of United’s illustrious past.

TeamViewer remains slap bang in the middle of the shirt as is detailed in red and white, despite United agreeing an early termination of their deal.

Roy Keane’s time at Manchester United

Commonly known as the club’s fiercest skipper of all time, the intimidating Irishman made a total of 480 appearances in central midfield for the perennial winners. They were back then, at least.

During his time as captain, he was behind four Premier League triumphs, two FA Cup trophies and the sole Champions League win.

However, this was not the extent of his success as a Manchester United asset considering he won an extra three domestic titles, an additional two FA Cups and embraced four Community Shield wins with the Red Devils.

Not only did he bring a fiery temperament in unnecessary loads but also an ample amount of talent, which allowed to become a mainstay for many, many years at Old Trafford.

His well-known fiery personality has been – arguably – missing in the Old Trafford camp for quite some time and many United supporters will miss the bite he so often provided.

Thanks to his 12 years of loyal service, Keane certainly earned himself rightful status as a certified cult hero and, therefore, it will be refreshing to those associated with the 20-time English champions that they have drawn a line under the dramatic end of their relationship.

As incensed as he could be, Sir Alex Ferguson came to a mutual agreement with Keane, a player of whom he shared a fractious relationship with, that he would be allowed to leave and spend the rest of the campaign with Scottish giants Celtic.

One year, a domestic title and a league cup double later, the ever-reliable midfielder finally hung up his boots.