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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark McCadden

Roy Keane's comments on Ronaldo were vintage Keano - and should have surprised no one

What did you expect?

That Roy Keane would slaughter Cristiano Ronaldo over his Spurs storm-out?

No chance. His fiery defence of the exiled Manchester United legend at the weekend was textbook Keano.

READ MORE: Roy Keane's 'gross hypocrisy' over Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Irish viewers mystified

This is a man who has his own footballing version of the 10 Commandments.

And Ronaldo’s act, no matter how petulant it may have been, wasn’t a sin in the Corkman’s eyes.

At least he didn’t go as far as the Portuguese star’s sister, who appeared to suggest on social media that her brother had been crucified by Erik Ten Hag.

“No-one who was born to shine by the hands of God will be undone by someone who has never worn his shoes. He is and will be history,” she wrote.

“There is a verse in the bible that says: ‘This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross’.”

You’d wonder how Gary Neville and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink would have reacted had Keane come out with that.

They were very much on the side of Ten Hag in a studio debate with Keane after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Refusing to come on as a substitute and then storming down the tunnel before the final whistle against Tottenham last Wednesday was sacrilege in their eyes.

Ronaldo pre-match before all of the drama 'kicked off' ((Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images))

But carved into Keano’s version of Moses’ tablets are his own footballing commandments.

‘Thou shalt strive - by almost any means - to be the very best you can be.’

Keane quickly shot down Neville when the former full-back claimed that Ten Hag had “no choice, no option” but to kick Ronaldo out of his squad for the Chelsea clash.

“What I love about Ronaldo now... he's 37, he's had enough and he snapped,” Keane said during a long debate about the striker’s recent actions.

“He's 37 and still wants to be the best in the world - and that's why I admire him. We sit here week in, week out and we praise bad players.”

Surprised? There were plenty on social media afterwards who were. Criticism of the Irishman’s remarks were plentiful.

His knockers were either living under a rock during Saipan - or were firmly in Camp McCarthy over Keane’s own storm-out.

Keane is black and white when it comes to sins in this game. And no doubt he saw a bit of himself in Ronaldo’s Spurs strop.

One thing I did wonder as he fired off a series of verbal sliding tackles at Neville and Hasselbaink was, what would Jonathan Walters make of it all?

An odd one, maybe, but this came in a week when Louis Saha tipped Keane for a return one day to management with Ireland.

So, what kind of character would be welcome in his Irish dressing room?

Would Walters have been better off training and storming off midway through on that fateful day while on Irish duty, when Keane blasted him for skipping the session to ice his dodgy knee?

‘Thou shalt not slack… even on medical advice’ - Judging by all that has been said since the pair famously clashed, this could well be another of Keane’s commandments.

But one thing’s for certain, no one should have been surprised that he stuck up for his former teammate at the weekend.

Whether he’s right or wrong on this one, it was vintage Keano.

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