Patrick Vieira is famous for a multitude of reasons, like captaining Arsenal during their incredible Invincibles campaign, winning a World Cup with France, and being one of the most ferocious competitors to ever play in the Premier League.
As you will find with most sporting legends, they often had an adversary that kept pushing them to the next level, and never allowed them to slack off.
Cristiano Ronaldo had Lionel Messi, Muhammad Ali had Joe Fraizer, and Patrick Vieira had Man United's Roy Keane.
The two midfielders were captains of their respective clubs as they went head to head on a yearly basis, competing for all of the major trophies in England, and the battle between the two in the middle of the park was always blockbuster in its own right.
This made him the perfect guest to come on The Stick to Football podcast, as the old foes could remises about their glory days, and past duels on the battlefield.
However, although the mood is now jovial and respectful, when the opportunity presented itself, Vieira could not resist having a dig at his former opponent.
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Patrick Vieira cuts Roy Keane in two with brutal Saipan jibe.
As usual the conversation was mediated by Gary Neville, and he asked the question - who had the most international caps, with everyone answering Vieira, who had 107 to Keane’s 67.
The answer seemed an obvious one, with Keane stating “you qualified for more tournaments you see.”
However, Vieira perked up at the opportunity to let rip.
“And I never walked out of one”, referring to his departure from the World Cup 2002 squad in Saipan.
The panel burst into laughter as ex-England defender Carragher said: "I was terrified to say that."
The Cork native even allowed himself a wry smile but qualified his position by saying: “I had injuries – my cruciate. I didn’t play for two years after I fell out with the manager.
“I could have easily got well over a hundred [caps].”
"I was terrified to say that!" 🤣
This is savage from Vieira to Keane... pic.twitter.com/ZGCfXNoqEF
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) June 10, 2024
Keane certainly could have played for Ireland much more than he did, but comparing the two players on their international career was only ever going to see the Frenchman come out on top.
Vieira won a World Cup, a European championship, and then reached a second World Cup final in 2006, so his glittering career in the blue and red jersey was always going outshine that of Keane's time in the green and white.
