Real Premier League rivalries seem to be a thing of the past; days of heated duels between players on a regular basis are few and far between nowadays. But that was never the case when Roy Keane and Patrick Viera were on the same pitch.
For almost a decade between 19995 and 2005 when the Frenchman moved to the Premier League from AC Milan, the pair were at the top of their game and with Manchester United and Arsenal battling it out for titles during that period, tensions ran high numerous times between the pair.
The fierce rivalry brought the best out of both players and undoubtedly had a huge impact on their teams fortunes at the time.
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With a top-of-the-table clash between two of Viera's former teams, Arsenal and Manchester City down for decision at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, both men were working for Sky Sports as part of their coverage of the big match.
The opportunity arose to question both men on who began the rivalry between the pair. With Viera reporting from Chicago he jokingly pointed the finger at the Irishman:
I think he is the one that started (the rivalry) because he was always scared of me, every time he was facing me, he was scared of the quality and challenges I was giving him
In typical Keane fashion he had a perfect response to the Frenchman:
Patrick, you know I was never scared of you, you are kidding yourself
The pundits talk then turned to the discussion as to who was the best ever Premier League midfielder. The question was put to fellow pundit Micah Richards if was in fact Viera:
I always favoured Patrick, If I look back now that may have been biased.
If I had to pick one, I'd have to pick Roy Keane.
His decision may have been swayed due to the fact the Corkman was sitting a couple of yards away at the time.
Keane backed himself later in the rivalry with the Frenchman.
'I always felt if I was at my best and Patrick was at his best, I'd take him'😂
Charity boxing match anyone?pic.twitter.com/D62ferABbP— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) September 22, 2024
How we would love to get the chance to see a Keane v Vieresque rivalry now.
