Man United Skipper Roy Keane Had ‘The Most Savage Tongue’, Claims Sir Alex Ferguson

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Irishman scared everyone at the club, including Fergie himself, says the Scot. 

Recently retired Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that his former captain at Old Trafford, Roy Keane, had “the most savage tongue” that he had ever encountered in his newly released autobiography, according to reports in the Daily Mail.

The 71-year-old has now revealed details about the midfield player’s acrimonious, and unexpected, departure from the Premier League giants in November 2005.

The Irishman had just given an explosive interview to the club’s own TV station, MUTV, in which Keane severely criticised a number of his own team-mates in the wake of a shock 4-1 loss to Middlesbrough in the Premier League.

“I wasn’t surprised by the result I had been expecting one like this. The players have been asked questions and they are just not coming up with the answers,” said Keane at the time.

“I am sick of having to say it and they are sick of listening to me. They have let down the club, the manager, and the fans.”

However, Fergie has now claimed that his skipper’s outburst was the final straw as far as he was concerned and that after a team meeting with the entire United squad in which Keane’s interview, which had been pulled by the United boss to prevent it going public, was shown to the players, he then called chief executive David Gill and asked for the player to be immediately sold.

“I think the dressing room relaxed when Roy left,” writes Ferguson. “Relief swept the room.”

And when Ferguson was asked in his press conference to launch ‘Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography’ on Tuesday whether he expected Keane to react furiously about his revelations, the Scot said: “The nature of the man you can expect that. That is the type of personality Roy is. The reason I had to explain it: it happened so quick, his actions were so quick.

“For one reason or another he decided to criticise his own team-mates. We couldn’t release the video. Two of our young players got booed at a match and we decided we had to do something. I couldn’t lose my control in his particular situation. If I had of let it pass the players would have viewed me differently. Throughout my career I’ve been strong enough.

“Roy overstepped his mark and there was no other thing we could do. We did well by him, paid up his contract, gave him a testimonial in front of 75,000 people. I did everything to honour the player he was for Manchester United.”

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