Roy Keane, one of the toughest men in football up there with Vinnie Jones, had fun in Singapore.

This surreal admission came from Keane during a recent banter session he had with Gary Neville and Ian Wright on The Overlap, a footballing channel featuring former footballers-turned-pundits, which includes Jamie Carragher.

Man United in Singapore in 2001

The visit to Singapore he was referring to was when the Red Devils were in town for a Southeast Asia tour in 2001.

The Singapore national team lost 1-8 to the English Premier League side.

Before the Singapore match, Manchester United beat the Malaysia All-Stars team 6-0.

What Keane said

Keane started his anecdote by saying: "We had a great night out in Singapore, didn't we?"

@wearetheoverlap Roy shares a story about his trip to the zoo in Singapore with Nicky Butt 😂🇸🇬 #sticktofootball #theoverlap #roykeane #manchesterunited #singapore ♬ original sound - The Overlap

According to the Irish footballer known for his intensity on and off the pitch, he and fellow Red Devils team mate Nicky Butt had wanted to go to the Singapore Zoo to see the white tigers one evening.

Keane said: "Me and Butty were going to the zoo. We were heading to the zoo to see, obviously, to see some animals."

"I think they had two white tigers or something in there... and me and Butty wanted to see them."

But those plans got scuttled.

"And we were on our way to the zoo, we got a phone call," Keane continued.

Turning to Neville, Keane said: "What was that famous bar called?"

Neville replied: "Long Bar."

With his memory refreshed, Keane then continued: "You were in the Long Bar and we said we'd pop in for half an hour."

Keane then concluded, with a glint in his eye: "And we never made it to the zoo."

According to Neville, they ended up turning the bar into a "zoo" instead.

There was no further elaboration about what went down that evening.

Singapore put on map because of controversies in 2001

However, the Red Devils' visit to Singapore subsequently yielded breathless tabloid coverage — more than two years later in 2004, when cheating allegations involving the team's top star surfaced.

On Apr. 11, 2004, the model Sarah Marbeck told News of the World she had an affair with Beckham in July 2001, during Manchester United's visit to Singapore.

Beckham, who had then moved on to Real Madrid football club, denied Marbeck's claims in a statement published by The Guardian at the time.

Keane's reputation

Keane's reputation as a no-nonsense player is legendary.

An anecdote about how he made his fellow national team mates feel before a game has been making the rounds online again, consumed by a new generation of football fans.

This is courtesy of a repackaged anecdote, titled, "Row F girl with the Viking hat."

@footballstoryss “Row F girl with the viking hat” 😂😂 #footballtiktok #football #irelandfootball #roykeane ♬ To Build A Home - Album Edit - The Cinematic Orchestra

White tigers at Night Safari

In response to The Overlap TikTok, Mandai Wildlife Reserve left a comment to say that the pair of white tigers are now residing at the Night Safari.

@mandaiwildlifereserve Just a white tiger and her coconut ball 🥥💕 #MandaiWildlifeReserve #NightSafari #whitetiger #tiger #cuteanimals #funny #singapore #sg #sgtiktok #fyp ♬ original sound - Mandai Wildlife Reserve

The two white tigers are Keysa and Pasha.

On Jul. 29, Mandai Wildlife Reserve shared on Instagram that its Malayan tigers and white tigers have swapped exhibits as part of efforts to provide them with new environments to explore.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mandai Wildlife Reserve (@mandaiwildlifereserve)

Top photos via The Overlap