Patrice Evra and Roy Keane's time at Manchester United did not intersect. Evra moved to Old Trafford from Monaco in January 2006, just a couple of months after Keane's acrimonious exit from the club.
It was not until they were both pundits for ITV at the 2018 World Cup that the two United legends got to know each other. Evra found that he and Keane had many characteristics in common, including the desire to always be on time. That need was not shared by fellow pundit Ian Wright.
Patrice Evra on first experience of intense Roy Keane
"I'd never been around Roy, someone I respected because he was a Manchester United great," Evra says in his autobiography, I Love This Game.
"We're both big characters and there was a mutual respect. I'd played in Roy's testimonial but hadn't spoken properly with him before. We talked a lot over breakfasts and dinners and agreed on the importance of sacrificing yourself for your team, of playing through pain of injury if it helped the team win. We had a nice connection and we shared another trait: we wanted to be on time for everything.
"I found that out when we agreed to go for lunch with Ian Wright and arranged to meet in the lobby at noon. Roy said he liked Ian and his charisma, even though he was a Gunner. That was good enough for me and I got there early, even before Roy. He approved of this and told me he liked me even more for being early. His happy mood didn't last long and by 11.58, Roy started to become agitated. By five past 12 I started to see the crazy Roy Keane that people talked about.
"'This is ridiculous, Patrice,' he said, 'Ian Wright is not respecting us. I don't know why we gave so much credit to a fucking Gunner. We're on time because we're United. That's why we won trophies!'"
26 June 2016; Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane in conversation with Robbie Brady during the UEFA Euro 2016 Round of 16 match against France and at Stade des Lumieres in Lyon, a game in which Patrice Evra played. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Evra says that Wright did arrive, 10 minutes late.
"Roy gave him the hairdryer, shouting at him and asking him who on earth he thought he was keeping us waiting," says Evra.
"Ian was laughing at the start, but not after Roy carried on telling him where to go. Then Roy left because he didn't want to wait around with Ian any more. Ian stood there and I felt sorry for him, but I also thought: ‘This is Keano; small details matter to him.'
"On another day before a game we were both working at, Roy heard me opening my hotel room door. He was next door to me and he ran out because he didn't want to be later than me. Except there was a problem which Roy realised when we were in the lift: he'd left his glasses in the hotel room and he needed them to watch the game properly. I told Roy that he had time to get them. Roy refused to go back to retrieve them because he'd be late. It was a funny experience."
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