Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has reopened an old feud with Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer.
Keane and Shearer clashed a number of times throughout their careers, as is to be expected from two fierce Premier League competitors.
The Irishman was famously sent off for the Red Devils at St James’ Park back in 2001 after reacting angrily to Shearer’s attempt to waste time.
The Newcastle United legend pushed Keane as he was about to take a throw-in, sparking fury.
Keane raised his arms towards Shearer and was duly sent off.
It was a dramatic moment on Tyneside well over two decades ago now but Keane has been speaking on the former England captain recently.
Roy Keane slams Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer
Keane, like Shearer, now works as a pundit.
The former Red Devils skipper appears on The Overlap with the likes of Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jamie Carragher and Jill Scott.
On a recent episode, they were discussing strikers Keane had played against.
He revealed that he didn’t like “sneaky” players like Shearer, who used their physical prowess to gain an advantage.
“Shearer was sneaky, sneaky elbows,” he said.
“I didn’t admire people who were nasty, I don’t like nasty people.
“He was nasty, with sneaky elbows in the back of the head. [Eric] Cantona, [Andy] Cole, all these strikers that I played with weren’t sneaky, (they were) good honest pros.”
Why Alan Shearer rejected the chance to join Roy Keane at Manchester United
Prior to moving back to Newcastle in 1996, Shearer had his pick of clubs.
The Manchester giants were interested in the forward following his exploits at Southampton and Blackburn, as well as with England on the international stage.
At the time, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were the dominant force in English football and a move to Old Trafford would surely have seen him win all the major trophies in the club game.
However, Shearer rejected Manchester United in favour of Newcastle, meaning he and Keane never linked up in what would have been a dream side for many.
A phone call from Kevin Keegan saw him make a U-turn, having previously decided to move to Manchester.
“At one stage, I’d made a decision,” he said.
“I’d gone home and said I’m going to go to Manchester United. We even had a drive around Manchester. We were going to buy Graeme Souness’ house.
“Not so long after that [Bryan Adams] concert that we were both at, I got another call from Kevin to say can I have another half an hour with you. I did and I thought you know what I’m going to go back home and come back to Newcastle. I can’t let this opportunity go.”
Shearer scored 206 goals in 405 appearances for Newcastle United and remains the Premier League’s all-time top scorer.
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