Roy Keane was always going to name some controversial choices in his all-time Manchester United XI - simply because of the number of world-class players that he shared a dressing room with.
Speaking after United's 3-0 win over Brentford at Old Trafford, the Irishman was asked for his opinions while he already admitted that he might have upset some of his former teammates. The likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo made the cut.
But there were some pretty big omissions, namely Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Eric Cantona, while Peter Schmeichel was named despite their infamous scuffle in a hotel before a big match. Here is Keane's best United XI in his own words.
Peter Schmeichel - GK
He was very good, not as good as everyone thought. He was a good character in the dressing room. The most important thing I had for him was huge respect. He produced big moments and got us through big matches. Peter would produce and help us get trophies.
Being good characters, making important saves. Because we were a decent team, Peter wasn't called upon much, but he made some big saves for us. He was lively and he produced in the important moments. Who won the fight? We say it was a draw.
Gary Neville - RB
Brilliant. He was a brilliant player. He was a brilliant character in a sense, he would go to bed at 8.30pm in the evening and we would criticise him. We all embraced Gary. Gary fell into the group, no problem.
In fairness, when you get into the first team, Gary became more vocal. There’s no stopping him now. Looked after himself. You have to have quality to do what he did.
Dennis Irwin - LB
I roomed with Dennis at United and Ireland. Brilliant trainer, very rarely injured, turned up to the big matches. If he was playing now, Dennis would be up there with the best. He was a good fella.
Garry Pallister and Jaap Stam - CB
I couldn't leave Jaap Stam out. Big strong, brave, brilliant in the one vs ones. I've also gone with Garry Pallister. Rio was a good athlete and read the game well, but my relationship with Pally was good. When I first went to United, there were certain lads who went out their way to help and [Lee] Sharpey and Pally were always on the scene.
I was not surprised [when Stam left]. Jaap had a bad injury. But when you’re at a big club, players do come and go quickly. It was a case of moving on.
David Beckham - RM
He was younger. He was from London, he loved his gear and his cars. They all have hobbies, but the key for me was are they training properly and giving everything for the cause? Becks did that. I don’t think I once fell out with him over anything because he turned up every day and put a shift in.
Ryan Giggs - LM
Where do you want to start? He could assist. Everything you want from a wide player. The amount of goals they got from each others' crosses. I never felt, even with Giggsy, they were distracted by the off-the-field stuff. Giggs was a superstar in a sense but he was a good teammate to have.
Paul Ince and Bryan Robson - CM
Robson has to go in there. He was a great player for Man United. Scored some big goals for the club. I’m going to put Paul Ince. Another very good player. Tarnished his reputation a bit, he ended up playing for Liverpool. He was a really good teammate.
Tough leaving Scholes out. But I thought Incey was brilliant in midfield. Good teammate to have next to you. He could head it and score goals. I enjoyed his company.
Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo - ST
Yorkie was brilliant, Cantona was brilliant, Ruud, Mark Hughes, Ole. Oh my goodness. Ronaldo and Wayne have to go for what they achieved in the game. All the other brilliant lads I’ve played with, I couldn’t leave any of them two out.
It was easy. You see these young lads coming through, as long as they’re giving their all, that’s part of learning. These lads, Wayne and Ronaldo, I always felt their priority was football at Man United. If they make a mistake, you try and help them. Sometimes players have to learn from their mistakes, we certainly wouldn’t be coming down hard.
