Roy Keane and Gary Neville were in complete disagreement over Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo being the best Premier League player of the 2000s.
Cristiano Ronaldo shot to superstardom during his first spell at Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him from Sporting CP in 2003.
The 39-year-old Portuguese forward lifted the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards during his spell under former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ronaldo made a lasting mark during his time at United and the Portugal legend lifted three Premier League titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
The former United superstar was part of one of the Premier League’s most memorable attacking tridents alongside Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney.
Ronaldo’s first spell at United came to an end in 2009 and he completed a blockbuster transfer to Real Madrid for a world-record fee at the time.
Keane and Neville disagree over Ronaldo
Speaking on the Stick to Football show, The Overlap’s five-person panel was asked to name the best Premier League player of each era, starting from its inception.
Roy Keane and Gary Neville both played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo during the Portuguese star’s initial run at Old Trafford and watched his meteoric rise in football.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher kicked things off with the best Premier League player from 2000 to 2010 by picking none other than Arsenal icon Thierry Henry.
Jill Scott named United legend Wayne Rooney as her pick before Keane stood by Ronaldo as his choice, but Ian Wright agreed with Jamie Carragher’s selection.
“I’m going Thierry,” Wright said.
“Of course, I have to. There’s no way. I think Thierry’s the best ever.”
Neville snubbed former United teammates Rooney and Ronaldo by siding with Wright and Carragher after he picked former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.
“I think Henry to be honest in that period, probably, is the one that would be chosen,” he said.
Keane’s admiration for Ronaldo
Keane was still United captain when Ronaldo first burst onto the scene at Old Trafford and the Irishman holds the Real Madrid legend in high regard.
The 53-year-old former United captain dropped the ultimate compliment on Ronaldo after he named the Al Nassr star in his best United XI of the Premier League era.
“When he came to United, he was still a kid,” Keane told Sky Sports in 2022.
“But you could just see the potential in him, the work rate, the desire, did we all think he would go on and achieve the things he did in terms of the goals, the assists? No.
“But did we think he had a chance to become one of the greatest players ever? Yeah. A lot can happen. Injuries. Distractions. But look at Ronaldo.
“For all his off-the-field stuff, I don’t think it was ever a distraction. We all liked him. He had that innocence. He has been amazing and I still love watching him.”
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