Rio Ferdinand lifts lid on infamous Keane bust-up with Ferguson at Man Utd
Rio Ferdinand admits Manchester United's players were left stunned by Sir Alex Ferguson ’s infamous falling out with Roy Keane.
The pair had previously enjoyed a fruitful relationship at Old Trafford following the Irishman’s arrival from Nottingham Forest. Keane won seven Premier League titles and the Champions League, as well as a whole host of other trophies under the stewardship of Ferguson.
That saw the former midfielder become the most decorated captain in the history of the Red Devils between 1997 and 2005. However, things went sour very quickly as he left the club under a dark cloud.
Keane took to the club’s in-house television station - MUTV - in the immediate aftermath of a 4-1 reverse at the hands of Middlesbrough in October 2005. Keane, who did not play in the game itself, did not take any prisoners as the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Michael Carrick, Kieran Richardson and even Ferdinand himself were victims of his tirade.
Speaking out against the defender, he said: "Just because you're paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you're a superstar."
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Not many within the club were happy with the interview - none least Ferguson who forced it to be pulled from broadcast. The consequences for Keane were more severe as he had the remainder of his Red Devils’ contract cancelled, leading to a move to Scottish giants Celtic.
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Now, Ferdinand has opened up on the showdown between Keane and Ferguson and has revealed that he was taken aback by his former manager’s reaction. Speaking on his Vibe with Five podcast, the former defender said: “When he did that, the manager came in and dealt with it and Roy never put a training kit on again. We got beat 4-1 at Middlesbrough and Roy does the analysis on MUTV and destroys everyone, including me.
“The manager got wind of it, and stopped it going out on TV and called a meeting at the training ground. Sir Alex was screaming, It went off, it was a movie in itself.
“Roy had a go back and some mad stuff was said. The next day we went into training and the manager called a meeting and said 'Roy Keane will never play for this club again'.
“This was our captain, a legend of the club, a phenomenal player and a great guy to have around. The manager said not on my watch and Roy was done. Sir Alex was cold in that situation. It was like 'don't f*** with this guy'.”
It appears that time has not smoothed things over between the two United icons. Back in 2019, Keane admitted that he “wouldn’t forgive” the Scot for the role he played in his Old Trafford departure.
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