'F*cking X Factor was on!' - Man Utd loanee Wayne Rooney opens up on hilarious prank on 'fuming' former captain Roy Keane

During an episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Rooney recounted the story of how he changed the TV channel from rugby league to The X Factor while Keane was watching. Rooney seized the opportunity when Keane left the room, quickly hiding the remote to prevent him from changing it back. When Keane returned and discovered the switch, he was understandably frustrated and even went as far as pulling the plug out of the TV in annoyance.

Rooney narrated: "He's watching rugby league [Keane], so I was sat there – it was Newcastle away – and you had to go out the room to get your food. I think it was my second or third game.

"He's gone out, and I've changed it over to the The X Factor – and I hid the remote. So, he's come back in, fuming. And we are sat there, and the next thing I know he's got up and pulled the plug out of the TV. I don't even know if he knows, but at about midnight, the club security knocked at my door, and asked for the remote. And I said, 'I've no idea where it is!"'

Keane, along with other football personalities like Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott, had a hearty laugh during the podcast.

The former United skipper said: "I like my rugby league and there was a good game on, and I came back, and I knew the lads were up to no good, the usual, very immature these lads. And I was like, 'where's the control' and of course, f*cking X Factor was on. So anyway, I wouldn't say I stormed off, but I went to bed, and I knew he [Rooney] had done it.

"But he was new to the club, so I thought, 'give him a chance, you don't want to be too hard on him.' The next morning, we went down for breakfast, and he comes up to me and goes, 'Did you find them controls?' – and I was going to be polite to him but when he said that, I said, 'go f*ck yourself'. We recovered after that!"

Despite the fallout, the duo played in United's next fixture against Newcastle, with Rooney scoring a brace in a 3-1 win. Keane made 39 appearances with the striker before he left the club in 2005 after a spat with Sir Alex Ferguson.