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Cesc Fabregas Recalls Roy Keane Ripping Into Gerard Pique Because They Were Friends

Cesc Fabregas Recalls Roy Keane Ripping Into Gerard Pique Because They Were Friends

Keane knew the pair of Spaniards were pals and went mad...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Cesc Fabregas has told a story of how Roy Keane ripped into Gerard Pique after the two had a challenge in the 2005 FA Cup final.

Playing for Arsenal, an 18-year old Fabregas went in late on the Manchester United captain at the Millenium Stadium and the Irishman was irate afterwards.

But remarkably, he took it out on his teammate Pique at half-time because he knew he was friends with the member of the opposition team that had just left one on him.

Both players had come through the famed Barcelona academy together before ending up in English football.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Speaking to The Telegraph, Fabregas recalled: Gerard Pique, who was at Manchester United then, told me about this afterwards and I never knew about it.

'He told me that me and Roy went into a challenge, which I remember. It was 50/50 and I must have caught him with my knee in his quad. And I got him a little bit.

"At half-time, he went to Pique and started shouting at him because he knew we were friends. A bit of swearing. I can't say the exact words but it was fun."

Image: PA
Image: PA

That wasn't the only time Pique felt the wrath of Keane during his stint at United. In fact,the Barcelona defender, has a hilariously brilliant tale of when he "almost s**t himself" when his phone began to vibrate whilst sat amongst his teammates in the dressing room.

Keane was livid when Pique sheepishly owned up and proceed to give him a dressing down.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"One of my very first matches at Old Trafford, we were in the dressing room getting ready, and I was nervous as hell," Pique told The Players' Tribune.

"Imagine it - I'm 18 years old, and I'm sitting in that little dressing room putting on my socks next to Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand. I wanted to be invisible. I was thinking, 'Just do your job and go unnoticed'.

"So we're sitting there waiting for the gaffer (Alex Ferguson) to come in and speak to us, and I'm literally sitting right next to Roy Keane. The dressing room is so small that our legs are almost touching. There's no space at all.

"It's dead quiet. All of a sudden, you could hear this little vibration. Very soft. Roy is looking around the room.

"I realise it's me. It's my cell phone. I left it on vibrate, and it's in the pocket of my pants, stuffed in the clothes bag that's hanging right behind Roy's head.

"Roy can't find where the noise is coming from. Now he's looking around the room like a maniac.

"His eyes are darting everywhere, and he's trying to figure it out. You know the famous scene with Jack Nicholson in The Shining, when he bursts through the door? That's what he looked like.

"He screams out to everybody, 'Whose phone is that?!'. Silence. He asks again. Silence. He asks a third time. 'Whose. Bloody. F*****g. Phone. Is. That?!

"Finally, I spoke up, like a little boy. Very softly, I said, 'I'm so sorry. It's mine.' Roy lost his mind! He went nuts in front of everybody! It was incredible. I almost shit myself. But it was a good lesson.

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Topics: Football, Manchester United, Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas, Roy Keane