Roy Keane pulled no punches towards two former Liverpool stars and revealed what would have happened had they pulled their behaviour at Manchester United.
The 53-year-old Manchester United legend had an incredible run at Old Trafford, with Roy Keane widely regarded as one of the best captains of all time.
An incredible box-to-box midfielder, Keane excelled thanks to his leadership skills both on the pitch and off it and became a key figure for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Keane inherited the captain’s armband after Eric Cantona’s sudden retirement and the United legend had a long-lasting impact during his spell at Old Trafford.
The Irish hardman was widely admired for his no-nonsense approach and captained United to their iconic treble win in the 1998-99 season under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Keane’s legendary spell at Old Trafford came to an end in 2005 and the Irishman was axed from United after his relationship with Ferguson splintered.
Keane hears saga of ex-Liverpool stars
Roy Keane was on the latest episode of the Stick to Football show that featured former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, who opened up on his time at Anfield.
During his time at Anfield, Rafa Benitez oversaw a saga where Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard handed in a transfer request and came close to signing for Chelsea.
However, Steven Gerrard made a dramatic U-turn and signed a new deal for the Reds, despite Chelsea’s best efforts to lure him away from Anfield.
Fast-forward to 2008 and Benitez had to deal with another situation involving former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso, who was Gerrard’s midfield partner at the time.
Xabi Alonso had been linked with Arsenal during his playing career at Liverpool, with Benitez claiming that the Spaniard refused to play in one match under him.
Keane made his feelings clear that the actions of Alonso and Gerrard would not have been “tolerated” had the pair been in the United dressing room.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “Jamie [Carragher], you’re a Liverpool lad. With Gerrard, sometimes a player wants to leave a club.
“But when they refuse to play or they don’t want to be cup-tied, I’m surprised players don’t turn on them when they are gone.
“We wouldn’t have tolerated that at United. [To Benitez] I know managers can have a disagreement with the player and the player wants to leave.
“It is straightforward for managers, to deal with a player who is not doing what he is supposed to be doing when everyone is mates with him.”
Benitez on Alonso and Liverpool match
Xabi Alonso would leave Liverpool in 2009 and complete a sensational £30m move to Real Madrid, with Rafa Benitez losing a key midfield influence for the Reds.
Benitez claimed that the 42-year-old ex-Liverpool midfielder didn’t want to play in a Champions League qualifier so he would not be cup-tied ahead of a move to Arsenal.
“We played Standard de Liege for a Champions League qualifier and we had Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva in the Olympic Games, Steven Gerrard had a lower back problem, so we had to play [Damien] Plessis and Xabi,” he said.
“Xabi had an agreement with Arsenal and didn’t want to get cup-tied
“I told Jamie Carragher and Gerrard before the game that he had an agreement and doesn’t want to play, but he must because it is the most important game to qualify for the Champions League.
“Then when you were going out for the warm-ups, you said, ‘Poor Xabi.’ Not poor Xabi, he is playing for our club at this time. During the season, he was our best player and didn’t go to Arsenal because he had to play [for us].”
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