Manchester United icon Roy Keane and Arsenal legend Ian Wright both saw eye to eye over one sporting ‘GOAT’ who stood head and shoulders above any other figure.
The world of football has had its own debate around the so-called GOAT debate, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi often headlining the conversation.
Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona icon Lionel Messi have both had remarkable playing careers and are two of the best players of all time.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have been placed in the football GOAT debate alongside the likes of Brazil icon Pele and Argentina legend Diego Maradona.
However, the conversation around the status of GOAT has extended to other sports, including a wider debate around the best athlete of all time across all sports.
Keane and Wright agree on GOAT choice
Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, former Arsenal star Ian Wright opened on the sporting icon who had the “biggest influence” on him.
Wright waxed lyrical about boxing legend Muhammad Ali and admitted that the ‘Greatest’ was “magnificent” for what he achieved outside of the boxing ring.
Ali, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 74, is wieldy regarded as one of the best boxers of all time and became a larger-than-life figure within the sport.
The former undisputed heavyweight champion transcended boxing for his activism outside of the squared circle, including opposing the draft for the Vietnam War.
“The one who has had the biggest influence on myself and the time he was at his best is Muhammad Ali,” Wright said, as per Tribuna.
“He’s magnificent because of what he did outside of the ring. He was heavily criticised for not going to Vietnam.
“He said, ‘Why am I going to kill in Vietnam, my enemies are here in America.’ He stood by that, and you can imagine what he went through.”
Former Manchester United star Roy Keane is a boxing enthusiast and the Sky Sports pundit admitted that it would be “hard to argue” with Wright’s pick.
Responding to Wright, he said: “His beliefs and his battles in America — they were huge. It will be hard to argue with that.”
Keane on crossing paths with Ali
Muhammad Ali was stripped of his boxing titles after he refused induction into the United States military for the draft and fought to overturn the ban placed on him.
The former heavyweight boxing superstar spent nearly four years out of the ring before the Supreme Court uplifted his conviction and his ban was removed.
Ali had been a vocal champion about his religious beliefs after he became a Muslim, with the ‘Greatest’ famously becoming a high-profile member of the Nation of Islam.
Keane has previously opened up on his experience of crossing paths with the boxing Hall of Famer and admitted he came close to asking Ali for a photograph.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap in 2021, the ex-United midfielder said: “Do you remember we went to London for the BBC?
“We got Sports Team of the Year. Did you get a photograph with Muhammad Ali? Do you remember Muhammed Ali was there?
“That would have been the ideal situation if I was gonna go for anybody, listen. But if you remember the show finished, all the lads went over.
“I remember going, ‘Leave him alone.’ And I’m glad I did. He was an old man. He was not well. But that’s the one I would have got a photograph.”
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