Manchester United icon Roy Keane was told that he had a skill that was similar to one legendary former player who could “manipulate defenders” on the pitch.
Roy Keane is widely regarded as one of the best Premier League captains of all time after his sensational impact at Manchester United.
The 53-year-old Irishman ascended to the United captaincy after Eric Cantona’s retirement in 1997 and Keane was an influential figure on the pitch and off it.
Keane famously captained United to their iconic continental treble win in the 1998-99 season under legendary former Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The United legend made 478 appearances for the Red Devils and he scored 51 times and registered 40 assists after his Old Trafford transfer in 1993.
Keane lifted seven Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and four FA Cups during his legendary spell under Sir Alex Ferguson at United.
The former Nottingham Forest and United star left Old Trafford in 2005 after his relationship with Ferguson splintered and Keane was axed by the Red Devils.
Man Utd legend Keane and underrated trait
Roy Keane is admired for his no-nonsense approach on the pitch and excelled as a leader during his time as Manchester United captain.
The Sky Sports pundit has been known to play down his skills as a footballer, despite the important influence that Keane brought to United as a midfielder.
Keane was a linchpin midfield figure for Sir Alex Ferguson and the former United captain was a dominating box-to-box midfielder during his prime.
The United legend had his fair share of midfield battles against legendary former players, including Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane and Arsenal hero Patrick Vieira.
Kenny Cunningham played alongside Keane for the Republic of Ireland and believed that his former teammate shared a key trait with Zinedine Zidane.
Keane is a huge admirer of Zidane and former Republic of Ireland defender Kenny Cunningham believed that the United legend had a similar “first touch” to ‘Zizou.’
“Roy was like that in terms of first touch,” he said on The Football Show, as per Off The Ball.
“Roy talks himself down technically, there were players at Manchester United he wasn’t like.
“But Roy’s first touch was unbelievable… Zidane could dance with the ball. He could dance with the ball and drop the shoulder to just manipulate defenders.
“Roy probably didn’t have that at that level as good as he was.”
Keane’s admiration for Zidane
Keane crossed paths with Zinedine Zidane on the international stage and in his club career and the former United star was in awe at the Real Madrid legend’s brilliance.
Speaking to Micah Richards, Keane previously admitted that the 52-year-old French former attacking midfielder was a “nasty” player to play against on the pitch.
When asked if Zidane was his toughest opponent, Keane said on the Micah & Roy’s Road to Wembley series in 2021: “Yeah. And do you know why? People still to this day don’t realise how big he was.
“When I played against him – I’m quite a small guy I’m what, 5’10”? people maybe think I look bigger on the pitch.
“The best thing when I used to play against Zidane, obviously at club level, I played against him for Ireland.
“The advice I would get from my friends in Ireland would be, the technical advice they would give me is, ‘Just kick him.’
“And I used to say, ‘He’s 6’2,” he can deal with that.’ And I think he had been sent off eight or nine times.
“What he was, what I loved about Zidane was, he was nasty.”
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