Roy Keane made a surprising admission about one former Manchester United teammate during a back-and-forth interview segment with fellow club legend Gary Neville.
The 52-year-old former Manchester United skipper is widely regarded as one of the best captains of all time after his prolific career at Old Trafford.
Roy Keane ascended to the captaincy after Eric Cantona’s retirement in 1997 and the United legend excelled as club skipper during his time at United.
The Irish hardman was a commanding box-to-box midfielder in his prime and was widely admired for his no-nonsense approach on and off the field.
Keane is thought of highly by his former United players for his run as captain, but the Sky Sports pundit didn’t always see eye to eye with his teammates.
The former United midfielder has openly spoken about his differences with his ex-club teammates, including players who went on to become club legends.
Keane’s legendary run at Old Trafford came to an end in 2005 after the Irishman was ruthlessly axed from United under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Keane and Neville on Man Utd teammates
Manchester United legends Roy Keane and Gary Neville have both been part of ITV’s punditry line-up for Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
The pair took part in a segment where Neville asked Keane to name the former United teammate after giving a cryptic hint about their identity.
When United legend Teddy Sheringham popped up, Neville told Keane for his first clue: “You didn’t like him.”
The former United right-back added: “That could be anybody! Jeez, I’ve got a list.”
Keane famously had a murky relationship with Teddy Sheringham and was even involved in a heated argument with him when he came to the defence of Andy Cole.
The former Nottingham Forest star worked out the identity of Sheringham, but not before he surprisingly named another former United player ahead of him.
Keane singled out former United teammate Jordi Cruyff before he picked Sheringham, with the Irishman insisting that he “didn’t mind” the latter.
Responding to Neville in ITV’s TikTok clip, Keane said: “No, you shouldn’t say that I didn’t like him. F**k sake. Jordi? Teddy?”
He added: “No, that’s wrong, I didn’t mind Teddy. I just didn’t get on with him. Yeah, we had a fallout. It is just working.”
Cruyff’s relationship with Keane at Man Utd
Jordi Cruyff, who is the son of legendary former player Johan Cruyff, arrived at United in 1996 after he left Barcelona for a fee of £1.4m.
The 50-year-old Dutchman was at United during the treble-winning season, but Cruyff missed out on the three trophies after he went on loan to Celta Vigo in 1999.
Cruyff struggled to establish himself as a regular under legendary former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and left Old Trafford in 2000.
The former Barcelona and United star admitted that it was a different demand playing with players like Keane than what he experienced in Spain.
“In Spain, if you had a Roy Keane tackle or a Ryan Giggs dribble, people appreciated the tackle, but the dribble, people would get on their feet for that,” he told The Daily Telegraph in 2023.
“But in England, it was the opposite. They liked the dribble, but the tackle, they would be shouting: ‘Wow, come on!’
“I remember that because I was so surprised and would be thinking: ‘Didn’t you see this dribble? Come on, that was from another planet.’ That was the difference.
“Now, I like Roy Keane and I would love to have this guy in my team. If he could let you fly a few metres but also touch the ball … perfect. Some things changed in my football mentality. You think about the beauty, romance, the dribble.
“But if you add the toughness and winning mentality, then you have the mix.”