Roy Keane says Gareth Southgate once tried to break his leg as Ian Wright confirms England boss' nasty streak

Roy Keane has claimed that England boss Gareth Southgate once tried to break his leg during an FA Cup match.

Southgate spent the vast majority of his career playing in the Premier League, where he starred for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.

The centre-back's final professional game was the 2006 UEFA Cup final, which Boro lost 4-0 to Sevilla.

Throughout his career, Southgate enjoyed many battles with Manchester United - a club he was forced to deny had approached him after Rio Ferdinand's suspension for missing a drugs test in 2004.

One battle, though, got pretty fierce - as Keane has recalled on the latest episode of The Overlap's Stick to Football.

You can see the clip below.

When co-host Ian Wright asked him if he thought he was 'stupid' in receiving any of his red cards, Keane hilariously replied: "No, not really. People were annoying me."

Neville then brought up Keane getting sent off during an FA Cup semi-final clash against Crystal Palace.

Keane stamped on Southgate, who was Palace captain, and was also involved in a scuffle with fellow Eagles defender Darren Patterson. It was the first red card of his professional career.

The former United midfielder insisted that Southgate deserved it, and explained: "He deserved that. He lunged at me.

"Nasty, nasty."

He smiled: "Everyone thinks Gareth a nice guy, I tell you! He tried to break my leg. I can tolerate him now."

Wright added: "He did the same with me at Villa, honestly, he done me as well."

Speaking in 2014 to FourFourTwo, Keane revealed that the Southgate incident was the one time he felt he may have crossed the line on a football pitch - but also insisted that the Palace defender take some of the blame.

He said: "In my defence, Gareth tried to cut me in half with a tackle. No-one remembers that.

"He only got a yellow card, whereas now he would probably get two months in prison. There was an element of self-defence with the stamp."

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Topics: Roy Keane, Gareth Southgate, Manchester United, Crystal Palace

Ryan Smart

Live in constant hope of the top flight as a Preston North End fan. Written in the past for SPORF, GiveMeSport and more.