Gary Neville and Roy Keane both felt the same way about one Manchester United legend who carried a lot of pressure and responsibility in European matches.
Roy Keane and Gary Neville enjoyed incredible success in the Champions League under Sir Alex Ferguson and were part of the iconic 1998-99 treble-winning team.
Neville would win a second Champions League title under Ferguson in 2008 after Manchester United’s thrilling penalty shootout win over Chelsea in Moscow.
Despite Ferguson’s two Champions League triumphs in Europe, United would struggle at times against top European sides in UEFA’s elite club competition.
Keane admitted that he dreaded playing against two teams in Europe when he was with United, with the Irishman axed from Old Trafford by Ferguson in 2005.
Neville and Keane also raised their suspicion over certain teams – none of which they officially named – and suggested they were not always clean when they faced them.
Keane and Neville on Man Utd legend
Speaking on the latest Stick to Football show, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright and Roy Keane talked about their highs and lows in European matches.
Carragher brought up that Manchester United legend Eric Cantona would be targeted with criticism over his lack of impact in the Champions League.
Neville admitted that he felt fellow United legend Cantona “would carry” a lot of the “pressure and the responsibility and accountability” for what happened in Europe.
The Sky Sports pundit’s thoughts on the Frenchman were met with an agreement from Keane, with Neville arguing Cantona carried a lot of weight on his shoulders.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “Do you know when I think about Eric and, to be fair, I don’t speak about Eric a lot, but when I think… we were so young then, we were 20, 21 when Eric was there.
“But when I think [about] the pressure and the responsibility and accountability he would take if we didn’t win in Europe, I felt like he would carry that pressure.
“Do you [Keane] feel that? I felt like he was, he would carry that pressure. Do you [Keane] feel that?
“I felt that he literally, it was abnormal because he’d won… in that season when he came back and he scored all those goals to win us the league, he almost felt like he had to do that I think in Europe […].”
Responding to Neville, Keane said: “But, yeah, that’s good. That’s what you [expect from] unbelievable characters and players, yeah.”
Neville continued: “That’s what I’m saying to you, it was unbelievable really. The way in which he assumed that sort of […].”
Keane on Man Utd legend Cantona
Cantona shocked the world in 1997 when he announced his retirement from football at the age of 30, with the Frenchman leaving the club before the treble win.
Carragher asked if there was something that Cantona didn’t quite do in his career, despite his legendary status at Old Trafford.
Keane insisted that Cantona was an “emotional” person and does not believe that his ex-teammate missed out on not winning a Champions League trophy with United.
“He was an emotional guy, but that’s what made him a great lad,” he said.
“But I wouldn’t look at Eric’s career and look and say he missed out on that.
“Every player will have… we’d all analyse our careers and go we missed out on this or missed out on that.
“But I think what Eric had done from lifting United from where they were and getting them over the line in terms of winning the Premier League – and obviously at the time you had to win the league to compete in Europe – but that doesn’t tarnish my [view of him] […].”
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