JOHN OBI MIKEL revealed that hard nut Roy Keane was his own personal bodyguard when he was just a schoolboy.

JOHN OBI MIKEL revealed that hard nut Roy Keane was his own personal bodyguard when he was just a schoolboy.

The Nigerian midfielder was involved in one of the biggest transfer tussles in football history when he sensationally rejected Manchester United for Premier League rivals Chelsea.

But when Sir Alex Ferguson invited Mikel to train at United after impressing for his country at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in 2003, the youngster was thrown in the deep end with the first-team.

During the month long-trail Mikel recalled the time no-nonsense Keane took him under his wing.

Speaking exclusively to SunSport, he said: "I trained with the first team. Roy Keane was my bodyguard.

“Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt always tried to kick me but couldn’t when Roy was there because he’d have killed them.