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Roy Keane Opens Up On Why He Finds It 'Hard To Like’ Chelsea

Roy Keane Opens Up On Why He Finds It 'Hard To Like’ Chelsea

​“I find it kind of hard to praise them too much."

Alex Reid

Alex Reid

Roy Keane once opened up about the Premier League club he dislikes, admitting: "I've always found it hard to kind of like Chelsea."

The latter part of the Manchester United legend's career coincided with Roman Abramovic's buying the Blues in 2003 and Chelsea's growth into one of Europe's biggest and most successful clubs.

Man United had numerous title clashes with Chelsea in the aftermath. But Keane admits that - unlike Liverpool and Arsenal - Chelsea were a rival that he found hard to praise, adding: "I'm still reluctant".

Keane explained his perspective on the post-Abramovic Chelsea in a 2017 Sky Sports panel discussion covering the first 25 years of the Premier League.

"The owner, clearly, was going to throw money at it," Keane said, per Pundit Arena. "They've thrown hundreds of millions at it and will probably continue to do so and that's what makes them a decent team.

"I remember growing up watching Liverpool in the 80s. Brilliant. We had respect for Arsenal.

"I've always found it hard to kind of like Chelsea even though. I'm still reluctant... The way they've done it.

"Whatever way they've done it, I find it kind of hard to praise them too much. But that's just a personal thing."

It seems pretty clear that Keane's merely grudging admiration is due to Chelsea having earned their modern success largely because of a wealthy owner taking control. So let's hope Micah Richards doesn't ruin their friendship by asking Roy for his real opinion on Manchester City anytime soon.

Uruguay legend Diego Forlan, who signed for Manchester United in 2002, tells a similar tale of Keane's disdain for the Blues.

"Chelsea are a small club, nothing like as big as Liverpool or Arsenal,' my captain Roy Keane and other Manchester United players explained when I asked them about Chelsea," Forlan explained to The National in 2016.

Safe to say that Chelsea were not - in the early part of the 2000s at least - a rival club that Keane felt he could really respect as he did United's long-standing adversaries.

All imagery: PA Images

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Topics: Football News, Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Roy Keane