Keith Higgins: Lee Keegan was the best Mayo footballer of modern times

Keith Higgins has paid tribute to ex-team-mate Lee Keegan on his inter-county retirement, saying that his fellow defender was the best Mayo footballer of the modern era.

"As a player, of all the people I played with, he's up there with the best I think," Higgins, who himself retired two years ago, told RTÉ Sport.

"He's got it all. As an all-round footballer, to see the things he could do, both in defence and attack, for me he’s up there as the number one.

"The personal accolades he has got speak for themselves. Five All-Stars, Player of the Year. When you get to that level without winning an All-Ireland, it shows the calibre of guy that he is.

"That debate will always go on, whether he was the greatest ever for Mayo but for me he's definitely up there. We'll never be able to compare him to the [All-Ireland-winning] guys from 1950-51, unfortunately, but in modern times he's the greatest.

"When he came back [after injury] in 2021, some of the performances, particularly the second half against Dublin, second half against Tyrone, when they needed a leader to drive on, he was the one carrying the fight to the opposition from corner-back.

"It showed the drive that was in him and the type of character he was to be able to do that in the position he was playing."

"Players like Lee Keegan don't come around too often"

Higgins wasn't shocked by the news but believes the 33-year-old will be "a huge loss" to the county as they look to rebuild under new manager Kevin McStay.

"It's a blow. Players like Lee Keegan don't come around too often.

"When you look back at some of the remarks that Lee made since Mayo finished up last year, it's probably not a huge surprise.

"Could he have stayed on another couple of years? Possibly but maybe he wouldn’t