I was teammates with Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand but my worst roommate was four-time UCL winner

Robbie Keane didn’t make too many errors throughout his career, however his choice of roommate left a lot to be desired.

Everyone has that one night owl friend who just can not get the hint when it's time to wind it in for the night.

It was no different for the former Tottenham and Republic of Ireland striker, who had the pleasure of rooming with some of football’s greatest stars.

Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand count as just two of the high-profile names Keane roomed with during his playing days and while the former England duo were admirable roommates, one ex-player did his best to interrupt Keane’s pre-match preparations.

“Having [Clarence] Seedorf as my roommate was the worst ever,” Keane explained on Rio Ferdinand presents. “Top player, worst roommate.

"He was good at making a cup of tea,” Keane added. “He used to have a lemon cake and a cup of tea at midnight.

“The night before a game, everything was off at midnight. Phones off and the room is dark.

“Seedorf used to have his laptop. I remember at the time we used to watch movies like the Lion King.

“We had two single beds, tight together and he used to put it on around half 11 and it’s going on until around half 1 in the morning.

“He could sleep in the afternoon, I couldn't. So he’d have three hours kip and I’m wide awake, I go to the game knackered.”

The pair became friends during Keane’s ill-fated spell at Serie A giants Inter in the 2000-01 season.

The Irishman managed just 15 games for the Nerrazzuri, scoring three goals in the process.

Keane had impressed at Coventry when Inter came calling with a £13million offer to take him to what was then, Europe’s strongest league.

But what he found on arrival was an abundance of attacking talent in their prime years which was too much for the then 20-year-old to overcome.

Ronaldo, Ivan Zamornao, Christian Vieiri and Alvaro Recoba all stood in Keane’s way to the starting XI.

He stayed at the club for just one season before securing a loan switch to Leeds that was later made permanent.

More recently, Keane has been making waves in management with Israeli champions Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

He became head coach in June 2023 and quickly showed his worth by steering the club to the Israeli Premier League and Toto Cup.

Keane came under fire from his native Ireland for continuing in his role during the Israel-Palestine war but recently explained why he opted to remain in his post until the end of last season.

“Let’s make it clear, obviously there has been a lot of stuff going on. I resigned at the end of the season from my post at Maccabi Tel Aviv,” Keane said.

“When the war began, we left the country, but I had five staff, I had a lot of foreign players who relied on me as their coach.

“We were winning the league, hadn’t won it in three years, we were in Europe and doing very well. My analyst for example, he has got a mortgage, a family and kids he has to feed. The decision just to step away from something, it’s not just my decision, it’s everybody else’s decision, which was tough.

“What is happening is terrible and nobody wants to see it. Hopefully it ends very, very soon. But at the end of the day, I’m a football manager and my staff have got people to look after. I have got a duty of care.”