Roy Keane Claims He Only Played With Five World Class Players At Manchester United

Roy Keane believes he only played with five world-class players during his time at Manchester United and named them during his appearance on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

Former United skipper Keane provided punditry for the Red Devils' 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford last year, alongside Jamie Carragher, who later posed him the big question later on in the show.

Keane, a seven-time Premier League winner, stated that he and his teammates "never gave ourselves an opportunity to talk about players being world class" as they feared it would go to their heads, but he did then provide an answer.

Ryan Giggs was the first one to get a mention, with Keane praising the Welshman for his longevity.

"If I look back now, you'd have to class Giggsy, " Keane said.

"I always class the world-class players as lads who were doing it for nine, 10, 11 [years] - obviously Giggsy's done it for a lot longer. To me, that's the key to being a really good player: you've got to be consistent.

"We see players now, they've having a good month and patting themselves on the back. You have to be good for years and years, and Giggsy would have been a prime example."

A second Welsh representative, Mark Hughes may have been a slightly left-field choice but Keane reiterated that the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man was a "brilliant striker".

He then said similar about Eric Cantona irrespective of whether the Frenchman did it on the international stage, and also used "brilliant" to describe his former midfield partner Paul Scholes.

And last but not least, Keane opted for a fellow Corkman in Denis Irwin, the only player who would get into Sir Alex Ferguson's all-time United XI with no hesitation at all, according to the man himself.

"My god, imagine if Denis Irwin was playing now," Keane added.

"He could play left-back, right-back, get you a goal, knew how to defend, never injured, a brilliant guy in the dressing room. Denis would be world-class to me - and he's a Corkman!"

No Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo or Peter Schmeichel?

Let us know your thoughts on Keane's list in the comments.

Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, red devils, Premier League, Old Trafford, Roy Keane

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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