The pair haven't spoken since Keane was banished from the Republic of Ireland squad and then coach McCarthy during the 2002 World Cup.
At an event for The Sun, McCarthy joked: “What’s it been, 24 years? And I still keep getting asked about it.
“I mean, I do these Q&As, the last one I did, I got asked about Keane.
“I said: ‘You know, he’s a fabulous player, great captain, captain of his club and everywhere he’s been and what he’s done is fantastic.’
“I said, ‘great goalscorer’ – and everybody’s looking at me – and I said: ‘I’m talking about Robbie (Keane), not that other c***.’
“Excuse that language!”
The bust-up has since been turned into a film, named Saipan, starring Steve Coogan, with McCarthy being left underwhelmed by the production.
He said: “My family and I all went to look at it, and it’s a heap of s*** to be fair, and my concern is, he’s about 5ft 8in, Steve Coogan, and in the film Roy towers above him for f*** sake.
“And yes, I did speak to him (Coogan), because I got asked, but then I saw in one of the Irish newspapers that I coached him – no I f****** didn’t coach him.
“That’s that journalist reporting that.
“I spoke to him about what happened, and if Roy wants to speak to him about that, but I don’t think he ever did.”