For a player who gave so much to the club, Roy Keane had a fairly acrimonious end to his time at Manchester United. He started to consistently clash with Alex Ferguson, with an infamous rant on MUTV in 2005 all but ending his time at Old Trafford.
In November of that year, with Keane out due to injury, he appeared on United's in-house TV channel, MUTV, to assess the club's game against Middlesbrough. After United lost the game 4-1, Keane tore into his teammates.
Ferguson was furious, with the Irishman leaving the club within a few weeks.
Many believe that Keane was out of line, but Wayne Rooney said he was within his rights to do what he did.
Writing in his column for the Sunday Times, Rooney said that the way Keane called out his teammates was fitting with his captaincy style, and he was correct to demand only the best from his teammates.
Now Roy Keane was vocal. I remember my first United training session thinking, "I need to impress him". Not the manager. Him.
I was at United when he gave his infamous MUTV interview but disagree with how it's portrayed.
Roy was supposedly too critical of his team-mates but I've watched the video and there's nothing wrong with it at all.
He said that players can't pass the ball 10 yards and they're playing for Manchester United and it's not good enough. Well, he's right.
Rooney would go on to captain United himself, attempting to ensure the high standards from Keane's era continued at the club.
When I took over United’s captaincy I sat down with Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher to get their opinion on what was needed by the group.
We came up with the idea that the club would create an app for foreign players so if they were stuck for schools, restaurants, whatever, all the information would be there. Out of that, the club produced a booklet.
We wanted chefs to visit young players’ houses once a week to teach them cooking and to help their independence. I took the squad out for a meal because I think it’s important to create an environment that’s not all about football, where players bond in their social time.
