Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has insisted he is "not bothered" by the fact former teammate Roy Keane left him out of his dream team-mates starting XI.
Keane remains a legend in the red half of Manchester, as does Scholes, but the Irishman snubbed both Scholes and fellow Red Devils icon Ryan Giggs when putting together his team. During a 2013 ITV documentary focused on Keane's intense rivalry with ex-Arsenal ace Patrick Vieira, the former United captain was tasked with putting his ideal starting line-up of old team-mates together.
Once he had completed the task, Vieira was quick to point out that Scholes had been snubbed and leapt to the ex-England international's defence. The Frenchman confessed that was the only selection Keane made that the Gunners hero disagreed with.
"Scholes, no doubt about it, I think Scholes, for me, was the best English player and one of the best United players that I played against," Vieira explained. "He can do everything."
However, Keane was quick to justify his selection as he hit back: "Having a great career doesn't mean you are a great player - there's a big difference.
"I'm not saying Giggsy wasn't (great), but do I leave out Ronaldo, one of the world's great players? Do I leave Becks out? You don't win titles by having choirboys in your dressing room."
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On an episode of the Manchester United official podcast in early 2020, Scholes had been given the chance to offer up a reply but was hardly phased by Keane's controversial decision to leave him out in favour of Paul Ince.
"When people name teams, it's a matter of opinion," Scholes claimed. "Me and [David] Maysy could sit here all day and pick 10 different teams, the amount of brilliant players that played here, so I wasn't bothered by it. I'm still not bothered by it."
Keane and Scholes spent years playing alongside each other, so it did come as quite the shock to many United fans when the former Red Devils skipper snubbed his old colleague.
During their time in the squad together, the duo helped guide Sir Alex Ferguson's United to seven Premier League titles, along with four FA Cup and a Champions League, before the Irishman moved to Celtic in 2005.
Keane's team in full can be found here: Peter Schmeichel; Paul Parker, Jaap Stam, Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin; Paul Ince, Roy Keane, David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
As mentioned, Giggs was also left out of the side, as were the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney, though that aforementioned duo did not share the dressing room with Keane for anywhere near as long.
Though Keane's relationship with Ferguson is no longer as strong as it once was, the omission of Scholes did not hinder his relationship with the midfield maestro.
