Robbie Keane has confirmed his departure from Ferencvaros after a successful spell in Hungary, with speculation continuing to grow over a potential move to Celtic this summer.
The former Republic of Ireland international guided Ferencvaros to the league title during his debut campaign in charge before adding the Hungarian Cup to the club’s honours this season.
Keane announced his exit in a message shared on social media, thanking everyone associated with the Budapest side for their support throughout his tenure.
“After an incredibly enjoyable and successful 16 months at Ferencvaros, I have made the difficult decision to bring my time at the football club to an end,” Keane wrote on Instagram.
“From the beginning, the President, the Board, the staff, and the players made me feel welcome and were a pleasure to work with. Together, we formed a fantastic partnership that delivered great success for the club, and I am incredibly proud of what we achieved.
“The supporters at Ferencvaros are among the most passionate in Europe, and the backing they have given me from the moment I arrived is something I will always remember and cherish.
“Winning the League in my first season, followed by lifting the Magyar Kupa last week, are moments I will always be immensely proud of. I will also never forget those unforgettable nights during our unbeaten run in the Europa League. These are achievements that will stay with me for the rest of my career.
“After a great deal of thought and reflection, I believe now is the right time for me to move on. It is not a decision I have taken lightly.
“Ferencvaros is a special football club and I have no doubt it will continue to enjoy success in the years ahead.
“Thank you all for your incredible support and the unforgettable moments we shared together. I wish the club and everyone connected to it nothing but the very best for the future.”
Keane’s availability is likely to intensify speculation linking him with the managerial position at Celtic, where Martin O’Neill is set to hold discussions with principal shareholder Dermot Desmond regarding the permanent role.
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1 Comment
Can’t help thinking that there is potentially, a higher degree
Of interest in Keane taking up the managerial role with ourselves imo?
Keeping MoN in the background, as a potential mentor, with the current coaching staff in place. Could potentially make the transition of a new manager, easier than what happened with Nancy, in theory anyway?
Think DD will want a transition, as easy as possible, especially with the amount of players moving on from our club over the summer period. Plenty of decisions have to made surrounding a number of players regarding contacts and playing time. And that’s without incoming players, that will have to set into our team set up, and structure, far easier than what has been achieved, especially by last season standards?
Think MoN would be far more suited, with a more hands on approach, than Tisdale as a footballing doctor, who only managed to make ourselves very sick as a club imo?
MoN also, would have better knowledge upon the mentality of a player, that’s required for ourselves, hence could be very important within the recruitment process, especially as I don’t think Nicholson or mckay have the expertise whatsoever, hence the problems within recruitment of players, where agents possibly run rings around Nicholson imo?
So overall MoN could have a massive impact during the summer, especially as he would listen to a new manager and coaching staff, better and moreso, than what has been in place for a number of years now imo?
Getting a better working relationship in place, behind the scenes, will hopefully make the whole process, operate far better than what was in place a year ago imo?
Still unclear about what will be the final outcome, upon how we intend to deal with the whole summer process, but certainly aren’t in a position to make drastic wrong decisions, at the very beginning of the whole process that will be involved imo?