Roy Keane and Gary Neville felt differently about one former Manchester United star after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him towards the tail end of his playing career.
Gary Neville and Roy Keane shared the pitch with one another and the two Manchester United legends enjoyed incredible success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Roy Keane arrived at Old Trafford from Nottingham Forest in 1993 and the 53-year-old Irishman famously captained United to their iconic continental treble win in 1999.
The Irish hardman, who is regarded as one of the best Premier League captains of all time, lifted seven Premier League titles, a Champions League and four FA Cups.
Keane was axed from the Premier League club in 2005 after his falling out with former United manager Ferguson and Neville succeeded him as United captain.
Neville was one of the breakout ‘Class of ‘92’ stars under Ferguson in the 1990s and the 49-year-old United legend spent his entire prolific playing career at Old Trafford.
The Sky Sports pundit lifted eight Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, three FA Cups and three League Cups during his time with United.
Neville on former Man Utd teammate
Speaking on the Stick to Football show, Gary Neville shared his two cents on why Raheem Sterling has struggled at Arsenal since his loan move from Chelsea.
Neville compared Raheem Sterling’s current difficulties at the top level to what former Manchester United teammate Michael Owen experienced.
Sir Alex Ferguson made the stunning decision to bring former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen to Old Trafford in 2009 as part of a free transfer.
Owen’s career had been curtailed by injuries and Ferguson took the risk with signing the 45-year-old ex-Real Madrid star when his contract with Newcastle had expired.
Speaking on The Overlap’s YouTube channel, Neville said: “I think when a quick player, say Michael Owen or Raheem Sterling start at the age of 16, 17, and they get to sort of like late 20s, 30, they’ve already played a full career.
“So, you think why they are like they are now is because most players come in when they are like 19, 20, and they play to the 34, and you see a deterioration, they are actually in their bodies 34 already.”
Arsenal legend Ian Wright then added: “So that’s why you are looking at someone like [Jude] Bellingham, [Bukayo] Saka, you probably think, ‘Wow.’”
Neville responded to fellow Stick to Football panellist Ian Wright by suggesting he was mainly focusing on particular players who have relied on “speed.”
“Yeah, be careful, be careful. I mean, particularly players who rely upon speed,” he said.
Keane and Neville amid Owen talk
Michael Owen scored 17 times in his 52 appearances for the Red Devils before the former Real Madrid star left Old Trafford in 2012 and signed for Stoke City.
Roy Keane was unconvinced by Neville’s “careful” remarks and pointed to the amount of matches that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played in their careers.
The United legend asked: “You say that, be careful, but all the top players play all the games, don’t they?
“Ronaldo, Messi, all these boys play the games. They play 60, 70 games a season.”
Neville would double down with his position on Owen by highlighting that the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner could not easily adapt to another role on the pitch.
“So, for Michael, and, say, for Raheem, it’s difficult for them to adapt into a different type of role because they don’t have the skill and the sort of intelligence,” he said.
“They play off that speed and that sharpness whereas [Ryan] Giggs, he was adapted and he could go back into central midfield. [Paul] Scholes, he obviously adapted.”
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