Roy Keane during his Manchester United playing days[GETTY]
Cantona caused shockwaves throughout the game when he retired fom football in 1997.
The No 7 shirt took on a whole different meaning after that, but Keane admitted that he was Ferguson's first choice to inherit it and not David Beckham.
Keane refused, admitting he wasn't 'too bothered' about the shirt.
In an excerpt of his explosive new autobiography The Second Half published in The Daily Mail, Keane wrote: "The captaincy is important, but squad numbers can have an importance. At United, ‘7’ was the iconic number.
"When Eric Cantona left there was a debate about who was going to be the next captain. I was quite relaxed about it.
"But there was his number, too - '7'. Bryan Robson had had it before Cantona and, of course, it went back to Georgie Best.
Eric Cantona (centre) previously wore the number seven shirt with distinction [GETTY]
The manager pulled me into his office and said he wanted me to wear '7'. I said, ‘No, I’m not bothered
Roy Keane
"The manager pulled me into his office and said that he wanted me to wear the '7'.
"I said, ‘No, I’m not that bothered.'
"And he said, "I know Becks will f****** want it and I don’t want him to have it. The little power battles.
"I’d had ‘16’ since I’d signed for the club. I was comfortable with ‘16’. I think it might have kept me on my toes, being outside the ‘1’ to ‘11’. I didn’t think that I was a number ‘7’.
"I said, ‘Give it to Becks.’ Becks got it, and it suited him - and Cantona. Ronaldo had it after Becks."
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