As a player, manager and pundit, Roy Keane was, and still is, the epitome of no-nonsense. The Manchester United legend was never afraid to speak his mind during his playing career, and has remained the same when covering matches for a variety of broadcasters in recent years. If Keane doesn't like something, you'll certainly know about it.
Given that Keane came up against Liverpool on 26 occasions as a player his dislike for them was understandable. The two clubs, for several years at least, were competing at the top end of the division - there was simply no room for friendship or niceties, not that there every would have been any between English football's greatest rivals.
In 2005, just before Keane had been replaced as captain by Gary Neville, the competition between Liverpool and United was still prominent. So, when Peter Crouch - who had signed for the Merseyside club from Southampton that summer - attempted to speak to Keane at a set of traffic lights, the conversation was lacking.
ALSO READ: Every word Ten Hag said about Ronaldo leaving
Crouch had treated himself to a new car - an Aston Martin - after his move to Anfield was confirmed. His transfer, by his own admission, had gone to his head. However, he was bought firmly back down to earth following his chance meeting with then-United skipper Keane.
Writing in his autobiography, How to Be a Footballer, Crouch recalled how he had been driving through the village of Hale Barns, close to Manchester, shortly after he signed for Liverpool. In his brand-new Aston Martin, with music blaring and the windows down, he pulled up beside Keane and attempted to say hello.
"I'm cruising around, trying to convince myself I look like Steve McQueen or Daniel Craig, ignoring the old Peter telling me I've become everything I swore I wouldn't, and I pull up at a set of traffic lights and there's Roy Keane," Crouch wrote.
"Ah there's a man who understands my vibe. Fantastic footballer, winner of multiple league titles and FA Cups and League Cups and the Champions League, captain and heartbeat of Manchester United through the most successful period in their history.
"I give him a nod. I give him a wink. I may even point my index finger at him and make a clicking sound at the same time.
"All of it saying, you and me, eh, Roy? Same game, same level. In it together. Rivals yet friends who just haven't met before. Alright, Roy?"
Unsurprisingly, though, Keane was not impressed. Keane did not even need to open his mouth to let Crouch know what he thought of him and his new car.
"He looks back at me," Crouch continued. "Even through my shades, I cannot mistake the disgust on his face. It's like he's looking at something which has just curled out of the backside of his dog Triggs.
"He shakes his head and stares back at the road ahead. I'm frozen in my pose, grin slipping off my face, and when the lights change and he drives off without a backward glance I'm left there with the handbrake on and an awful realisation: oh my God, I've become one of those twats."
Despite having just purchased his Aston Martin, the brief exchange with Keane was enough to convince Crouch that his new car was not for him.
He added: "I sold the Aston Martin the next day. A £25,000 hit on it, and I considered myself lucky. All because of Roy Keane - Roy, as my absent conscience, Roy as a modern-day footballer's spiritual guide."
The pair would come face-to-face once again just weeks later. This time, however, it was on the pitch, rather than at some traffic lights near Manchester. The match at Anfield finished 0-0, and Keane had played 88 minutes in the clash. His contract at Old Trafford was later terminated after he delivered a scathing attack on his teammates.
Keane's comments, which were deemed not-fit-for broadcast by the club's in-house TV channel - MUTV - signalled the end of his time in a Red shirt as he went on to join Celtic soon after.
While Keane has never discussed his exchange with Crouch, there are a number of reasons why he might have chosen to blank the English striker. Keane perhaps wasn't a fan of flashy cars, or just as likely, he had absolutely no interest in engaging with a Liverpool player at that point in his career.
It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if Keane snubbed Crouch purely due to his dislike of the Merseyside club. It would not have been the first time that the Reds ace made his feelings known.
Rewind a few years - specifically to the 1990s as United dominated, and Liverpool struggled to maintain the same pace - Keane was keen to remind his rivals about who was on top. According to former Reds winger Lee Sharpe, he and his teammates bumped into several Liverpool players on a night out in Cheshire back in the mid-1990s.
Sharpe claimed that Keane "launched into a fierce tirade" about the Liverpool players - with the midfielder going through each opponent to let them know exactly what he thought of them. Even Phil Babb, Keane's Republic of Ireland teammate at the time, was unable to escape his wrath.
"You, (Phil) Babb, f**k off back to Coventry. (Jamie) Redknapp, what the f**k have you ever done in the game? You, (John) Scales, you’re f**king rubbish, with your England B cap," Keane said, according to Sharpe during an interview with The Athletic.
Former Liverpool defender John Scales confirmed that the story was true, adding: "We were out and, surprise surprise, we bumped into Roy. We were immediately thinking, ‘OK, here we go’. Sure enough, Roy unleashed this tirade. There was steam practically coming out of his ears."
With that in mind, then, Crouch can probably take comfort in the fact that Keane's refusal to even acknowledge him, never mind speak to him, at those traffic lights in 2005 was unlikely to be personal. It won't bring his £25,000 back, though.
You can vote for your United Fans' Footballer of the Year - cast your vote below or by clicking here:
READ NEXT:
