Gary Neville insists that Roy Keane's fearsome side is "just 2% of him," lifting the lid on the tamer aspects of the Manchester United legend.
From crunching tackles to stonewall red cards, post-match rants to TV punditry spats, Keane is often perceived as a gnarly and nasty figure when it comes to football. Neville, though, knows him far better than most, having spent 12 years alongside the Irishman during their trophy-laden stint at United.
Opening up on Keane's behind-the-scenes persona in a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian, Neville explained: "That [fearsome] image comes from his playing career - and maybe parts of his managerial career - but it was always just 2% of him. The other 98% was storytelling, humour, listening, talking, challenging.
"That's what Roy's like off the pitch. Competitive, yes, but you can talk to him for ever. He's charming and great company. What you're seeing now is his real personality coming through."
Indeed we are seeing more of the ex-United midfielder and former Republic of Ireland international's warmer nature, particularly on tour with Neville and Jamie Carragher for The Overlap. Fellow player-turned-pundit Micah Richards is often credited for bringing out Keane's humour, with their banter on Sky Sports often a highlight of shows.
Speaking to Four Four Two last year, Richards revealed: "He's one of the nicest, most humble people I've ever met. Just don't cross him. He only drops his guard with people he trusts; I'm not claiming to be his best mate, but I'm someone he knows and has a good relationship with now. I think he often just doesn't let people in. But he's an absolute diamond. I love working with him."
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Of course, this takes nothing away from Keane's standing as a bona fide Premier League great, which Neville remains in awe of. When asked who the best captain he played alongside was, the former United defender - who was handed the armband shortly before Keane's controversial departure from Old Trafford in 2005 - replied: "Roy Keane without a shadow of a doubt.
"Without a shadow of a doubt he was the most inspirational football player that I played with. Because he wasn't only the best player on the pitch most weeks, which obviously is a fantastic thing with a captain, then everyone else will sort of follow your lead.
"But just the influence he had in terms of his standards, the fact that he made everyone else feel 10-foot tall, the fact that he demanded from you all the time. He was almost like Sir Alex Ferguson out on the training pitch and in the changing room. There was never any drop in standard from Roy."
Neville went on to say: "I took over the captaincy from Roy, and I never wanted to, because, ultimately, he was the best captain that you could ever have. Iwould never even be able to think that I would be a captain like Roy Keane was. You had to be more collaborative.
"Whereas Roy, to be fair, had just the complete control of the changing room in terms of he was the dominant figure. He was the best player. He was the most influential."
