We've become accustomed to Roy Keane's discontent with the Manchester United squad. His apathy for recent performances from the likes of Harry Maguire and David de Gea have become almost as big a part of matchdays as the games themselves.
Keane was almost more dismayed than angry last weekend, when his former club fell to an embarrassing 4-1 derby defeat to Manchester City.
Ahead of United's clash with Spurs on Saturday, however, Keane was in a much lighter mood - and poked fun at ex-teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, and United's centre-backs Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, ahead of kick-off.
"Are they wearing gloves?": Roy Keane pokes fun at United squad ahead of Spurs clash
Roy Keane has never been one to mince his words. The infamous Saipan incident is a perfect example of that, as is the elusive MUTV interview that saw him exit Manchester United as a player.
He has been similarly outspoken about the current Manchester United squad in recent months. The club's poor form has led him to criticise plenty of the club's squad when on punditry duty with Sky Sports.
He was in the Sky studio for Saturday evening's game with Spurs at Old Trafford, and was in a jokey mood during the pre-game buildup.
Cristiano Ronaldo was missing from last week's derby at the Etihad with a supposed hip flexor injury, and travelled back to Portugal for the weekend. Rumours swirled that such an injury was an invention of United's PR team - something that Keane couldn't resist poking fun at.
I'm glad he's recovered - a few days in Portugal seems to have done the trick for his injury problems.
But it is good to see him back. He's a quality player. Whatever is going on in the background, whether he didn't want to be sitting on the bench or whatever - he's starting. His goals record is fantastic.
You can talk all about the things he's not good at in terms of pressing. Put the ball in the right area, Ronaldo will score.
"A few days in Portugal has done the trick" 😬
Roy Keane on Cristiano Ronaldo's return for Man Utd... pic.twitter.com/VIf871GxM3— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 12, 2022
Roy Keane saved his best remark of the day, however, for United's centre backs Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane.
Maguire has infamously not been Keane's favourite player since joining Manchester United, but it wasn't the Englishman's performances on the pitch that caught Keane's eye on Saturday.
Instead, he took issue with the fact that Maguire and his defensive partner were wearing gloves, suggesting that such behaviour was unacceptable from "big strong centre-halves."
They have gloves. Are they wearing gloves? Am I seeing things?
Ah, that's a great message.
[Host Kelly Cates: "Maybe they've got cold hands?"]
They're two big strong centre-halves. I don't mind the full-backs, but...
We can't imagine Jaap Stam and Ronny Johnsen wearing gloves at the heart of defence in the iconic team that Roy Keane captained in the late 1990s.
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