Man Utd legend Roy Keane claims he ‘never had a bond’ with Sir Alex Ferguson | OneFootball

Sir Alex Ferguson speaks to Roy Keane.

Manchester United legend Roy Keane insists he “never had a bond” with Sir Alex Ferguson during their time together at Old Trafford.

Keane famously fell out with Fergie in 2005 before leaving for Scottish giants Celtic after 12 years at Old Trafford.

The Irishman left Man Utd as the most successful captain in the club’s history with the English side winning nine major honours under his leadership.

Ferguson clashed with the former Man Utd midfielder about the set-up of a resort on a pre-season training camp before Keane angered the Scot further by revealing in an interview with MUTV that he would be “prepared to play elsewhere”.

And Keane hasn’t always been complimentary about Ferguson in his post-playing years with the 51-year-old saying in 2019 that it is “nonsense” that the legendary Man Utd manager was one of the best man-managers that football has ever seen.

He was asked by Sky Sports presenter David Jones on Sunday about the importance of a player’s relationship with a manager and Keane revealed that he was never friendly with his managers.

“That was never for me. I never believed in being ‘pally’ or close to any of the managers I worked with,” Keane said.

Jones suggested Keane was close to legendary Man Utd boss Ferguson, but Keane rejected that, he added: “[I] never had a bond there, absolutely not. People like to believe that we had a good relationship, I probably had two or three private conversations with the manager during my time at the club.”

Keane has been a vocal critic of Ferguson in recent years with the former Man Utd midfielder describing the “control” the Scot had over his players.

Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast, Keane said: “Power and control – that’s how he [Sir Alex Ferguson] managed. You [David Beckham] were getting older.

“We were all getting older, and people were getting married and having kids – the manager certainly didn’t like not having that control over the players. Whether it be the agency, your haircut, or where you were living – I have no doubt that he was getting fed up with it, losing that control over the players.”

In 2019, Keane questioned claims that Ferguson was one of the best man-managers around, he told Off The Ball: “I wouldn’t forgive Ferguson. The media spin, how I apparently upset everybody, it was all nonsense.

“I don’t care if it’s Alex Ferguson or the Pope, you’re going to defend yourself.