Ex-midfield battler opens up about the effect of Rio’s attitude on the camp.
Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has opened up in a new book about his life and career in which no one will be spared. And he has spoken about how Rio Ferdinand’s drugs ban back in 2003 had a negative effect on the team, the Daily Mirror reports.
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Ferdinand was slapped with a hefty ban for missing a drugs test whilst United were on the march for another Premier League title and Keane claims his absence was felt, though he was perhaps not as harsh with his words as would be expected.
“He [Rio] suffered for it and so did the team. If it had been me, and the doctor had said I had to do a drugs test, I’d have gone and done it. It wasn’t something I’d have forgotten,” Keane said.
“It wouldn’t have been like collecting a letter at the office, or remembering your boots. When a doctor says you’ve got to do a drugs test, it’s not an everyday thing. But then, some people are genuinely forgetful.”
“I don’t think I was annoyed a the time, and I don’t think the other players were either. But, ultimately, the team suffered. I didn’t look at Rio and think that he’d been up to no good, or that there was a hidden reason for what had occurred. I think he genuinely forgot.
“We paid the price. He was a very good player and we missed him, especially in the second half of the season when the crunch games were coming up.”
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