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Roy Keane has opened up about a prolonged disagreement he had with fellow Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, revealing that they did not speak for half a year. Despite sharing the pitch at Old Trafford for over a decade and jointly achieving the historic Treble in 1999, the two clashed over Giggs’ refusal to participate in a club-related function.
Speaking on SkyBet’s Stick to Football podcast, Keane recounted the incident that led to the fallout, expressing his frustration over Giggs’ decision to skip the event. “I was fuming with him. Me and Giggsy didn’t speak for five or six months,” Keane shared, emphasizing the expectation for players to fulfill club duties, “You know [as a player] when you have to do something for your club – nobody wants to do anything at the club.”
The dispute dragged on for months, according to Keane, who felt irritated by Giggs’ one-off refusal to engage in team activities, despite generally being cooperative with such requests. “Giggs was obviously good with doing functions – it was just that day he went, ‘I’m not doing it’. And I was just irritated by him – simple as that – we dragged it on for a few months,” he explained.
Gary Neville, another teammate from their time at United, recalled finding himself in an awkward position during the peak of Keane and Giggs’ disagreement. Neville described an early morning when he unwittingly walked into an ongoing argument between the two. Despite his attempts to leave the volatile situation, upon his return, he found them still embroiled in conflict.
This wasn’t the only time Keane found himself at odds with a teammate. He also mentioned a year-long silent treatment with Gary Pallister, sparked by Pallister leaving a night out earlier than Keane had expected. Despite these conflicts, Keane acknowledged the transient nature of such disagreements among teammates, noting, “You just have these disagreements. Palli’s a good guy.”
