Irish celebs post heartfelt tributes to Robbie Keane

Irish celebs have shared touching tributes, following Robbie Keane’s retirement announcement.

The sports star announced on his social media that he was retiring from international football yesterday, leaving Irish football fans with a heavy heart.

The Tallaght native began playing international football in 1998 for the Republic of Ireland, and will play his final match on August 31st this year.

Robbie resides in L.A. with his wife Claudine Keane and two sons, Robbie Jr. and Hudson, where he plays for L.A. Galaxy.

Celebs like Niall Horan, Nicky Byrne, and fellow sports star Shane Long took to social media to pay their tributes.

Millions grow up dreaming of pulling on that green for Ireland. Robbie Keane You gave us everything you had, it’s been emotional!Thank You?

— Nicky Byrne (@NickyByrne) August 24, 2016

” #RobbieKeane deserves to be recognised and celebrated as one of the greatest Irish players of all time.”https://t.co/Lw0oer1p94

— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) August 24, 2016

Let’s celebrate one of the greatest players to ever put an Irish jersey on as he announces his retirement from international football . When I was a kid my dad had a ten year ticket for landsdowne road in the east stand . We went to every single home Irish game from as long as I can remember . Without fail every Irish jersey I owned had ‘Keane 10’ on the back and I would walk up to the ground on freezing cold Wednesday night in Dublin to watch the boys in green and excited by the idea of Robbie Keane scoring and adding to his tally of goals he has for Ireland . Robbie gave the Irish fans some of our greatest moments and brought so much joy to a small nation when he put that jersey on. The greatest thing about Robbie is that everytime he put on the jersey you could literally see him bursting with pride and everyone fed off that . Over the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to call Robbie and Claudine my really good friends and I hide nothing. I tell rob all the time that he’s my idol and was a big part of my childhood even down to when I would try and do my hair like his( state of him ) . Rob thanks for everything , we’ll miss ya banging goals in for the boys in green . ????

A photo posted by Niall horan (@niallhoran) on Aug 24, 2016 at 12:15pm PDT

Congratulations to #RobbieKeane on an unbelievable career for Ireland.Thanks for the memories,you’ll be missed pal pic.twitter.com/SkwH4b2jtd

— Brian Ormond (@brianormond79) August 24, 2016

Been an honour to know, learn from & play alongside Robbie. No doubt he’ll finish it off with a hat-trick! #keano10 https://t.co/ylnOZMeOcc

— Shane Long (@ShaneLong7) August 24, 2016

 

The most heartfelt tribute of all the the footballer came from his wife, Claudine Keane.

The model took to her Twitter to gush about her husband’s career and his passion for the sport.

She also complimented him on their 14 years together and what a great father he’s been.

I want to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of my husband. He always gave his heart & soul to his country. It’s been an incredible

— Claudine Keane (@ClaudineKeane1) August 24, 2016

Journey watching him play and develop not only into a great player but an amazing father & friend. The 14 years we’ve been together have

— Claudine Keane (@ClaudineKeane1) August 24, 2016

Been an adventure to say the least and playing for Ireland has been a huge part of that for us. My son has the most amazing memories from

— Claudine Keane (@ClaudineKeane1) August 24, 2016

On Wednesday night during his final game but we’ll savor every moment. Thanks to all the Irish fans they showed amazing support to Rob over

— Claudine Keane (@ClaudineKeane1) August 24, 2016

The years and had a huge influence on his career. We’ll always have the memories.. #coybig ?????⚽️

— Claudine Keane (@ClaudineKeane1) August 24, 2016

The news comes after Robbie’s footballer pal David Beckham paid tribute to him yesterday.