Alan Shearer had no doubts deciding between Duncan Ferguson and Roy Keane as football's hardest man

Former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer didn’t hesitate when choosing between Duncan Ferguson and Roy Keane as the Premier League’s ‘hardest player’.

Shearer, 54, played with Ferguson, 53, during their time together at Newcastle United between 1998 and 2000 before the Scot returned to his beloved Everton.

The Geordie also faced Roy Keane as his Magpies side battled with Man United for the Premier League title in the late 90s, as well as losing an FA Cup final in 1999, before the Red Devils secured a historic treble.

And despite being a talented striker, Ferguson’s hardman reputation sometimes went before his footballing ability.

But the man himself insisted he is “not a hardman”.

“I’m not a hard man,” Ferguson told The Guardian in May. “I’ve always tried to be nice to people, but sometimes I’ve been backed into a corner and got myself into a wee bit of trouble. I played the game aggressively, but I don’t think I was even the toughest in any of the dressing rooms I’ve been in. I don’t see myself as a tough guy."

Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson at Newcastle United (Credit:Getty)

And given the fact that Shearer has played with and against Keane and Ferguson, he knows more than most about who is the ‘toughest’.

So, who did he choose?

“There’s no doubt about it. ‘Big Dunc," Shearer told SPORTbible in 2022 when asked who was harder out of Keane and Ferguson in an interview to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the Premier League.

"Big Dunc’s the hardest player I’ve come across – both playing against and for.

“I was lucky enough to play with him at Newcastle and stand alongside him in the tunnel. He had such a presence, and other teams were petrified of him.

“He was as hard as they come. Both on the pitch and off the pitch. He has this aura around him, doesn’t he? You wouldn’t want to push him to ask him again – you'd just say, ‘OK, no problem, Dunc.

“To have him on your side, it was a lot better having him on it than off it. You definitely wouldn’t want to go in a fight with ‘Big Dunc’, that’s for sure.”

Ferguson later put Shearer alongside Wayne Rooney in his top two best players he played with.

Duncan Ferguson and Roy Keane in 1998 (Credit:Getty)

“I’ve got a soft spot for Wayne Rooney because he’s a scouser and a bluenose,” Ferguson explained to The Guardian.

“I played with him at a young age when he obviously wasn’t quite at the peak of his powers, but you could see where he would get to even then. He was a fantastic player at 16. If I can put two in, I’d say Alan Shearer was the other one who I thought was top, top, top.

“Wayne could do it all. I’d say Wayne had more clubs in the bag. Alan was more of a goalscorer, but he was technically very good as well. He could take the paint off that ball. The two were world-class.”