It’s not often that Roy Keane cracks a joke, but he was seemingly in good form this week when he told reporters that Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t be where he is today without his help, the Metro reports.
The 30-year-old is considered to be one of the best footballers of his generation, and lined up alongside the firebrand Irishman at Manchester United between 2003-05 before Keane left in a storm to join Celtic.
Ronaldo has gone on to lift a swathe of team accolades since leaving United, as well as chalking up three Ballon d’Or titles during that time, too, but Keane was insistent that none of it would have been possible without his influence.
“Yeah I made him,” Keane joked with reporters before the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 play-off first-leg against Bosnia. “If it wasn’t for me he wouldn’t be where he is.”
Keane was then asked if certain players need to be treated differently in order to get the best out of them.
“Yeah, of course, yeah. Obviously different players have different traits,” Keane added.
“How you speak to them, who you shout at, who you don’t. I didn’t shout at Ronaldo that much. I didn’t have to.”
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