We all know what a great leader and player Roy Keane was during his 12 years at Manchester United, but his former teammate Rio Ferdinand feels that some players flourished most after the Cork man's departure.
Whenever you listen to Roy Keane's views on Sky Sports, you get the feeling of how demanding he must have been as a teammate. His pure passion and love for Manchester United hasn't left even after his rocky relationship with Alex Ferguson towards the back end of his career.
Speaking on the Vibe with Five podcast, Ferdinand spoke about the difficulties some of the fringe players in the Man United dressing room had with Roy Keane and compared Keane's aura around the changing room to the issues United are having with Ronaldo.
Rio Ferdinand said:
Roy Keane was a huge character, leader, aggressive, in people’s faces, very different to Cristiano but he had an aura around him that I felt, and players who I speak to felt, suppressed some people and players,
Natural instincts, natural way of playing, the way they carry themselves in training, matches. The likes of John O’Shea, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher, definitely. Darren Fletcher will tell you that himself.
When he left, Roy Keane, they flourished as not only football players but as people. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not so much as a football player, but they were allowed to breathe and they felt more comfortable.
It's easy to see where some of these players were coming from, but that winning mentality and demanding nature of Roy Keane is exactly what helped Manchester United to be so successful over the years.
Man United: Roy Keane And Ronaldo Comparison
Speaking on the Vibe with Five podcast, Ferdinand was speaking about the issues around Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford and compared Ronaldo's aura to Keane's.
Speaking on the comparison between Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United, Ferdinand said:
He did so much positive for them, he was brilliant in the way he spoke to those players, but also at times he was maybe a detriment to them, the pressure he put on them – unknowingly I suppose , just because of who he was and the stature of player that he was.
I think maybe Cristiano’s stature, he’s not a talker and someone who’s going to sit down and talk to me. He’s more ‘you’re going to watch me and you’re going to learn’ and the aura that he has to be one of the best players ever could be a burden on some of these players, and they’re not able to handle that pressure that comes from someone like him.
Keane's winning mentality is what separated him from other players around the world for years and Ferdinand's comments will likely not go down well with Roy Keane, but you can see how valid Ferdinand's point is.
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You can listen to the full podcast below.
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