Roy Keane | Manchester United
Roy Keane ruled the Manchester United dressing room for almost an entire decade after taking over as captain from Eric Cantona in 1997. The Irishman is one of the Premier League's greatest-ever midfielders, but he's perhaps best known for the fear factor he had both on and off the pitch.
Now a light-hearted pundit, it's easy for younger viewers to forget that Keane is among the hardest players to ever grace the Premier League. Not afraid to get into a scrap with opposing players, such as Patrick Vieira, the ex-midfielder even got physical with some of his own teammates.
He had an infamous fight with goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, whom he has since labelled 'overrated', with neither man willing to admit they lost. However, one Red Devils star has openly admitted that he was 'knocked out' by the ex-United skipper in the dressing room.
Roy Keane's Angry Tirade and Fight With New Signing
roy keane manchester united
In fact, it was Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze who claimed to have been on the receiving end of Keane's well-documented temper after an away defeat at Middlesbrough. Not long after his 2004 move to Old Trafford from Paris Saint-Germain, the pair got into a heated confrontation.
The versatile Argentina international told ESPN in 2017: "We went to Middlesbrough and we ended up losing 2-1. The team was disastrous. To be honest, I thought I had not played that badly.
Roy Keane | Tottenham Badge
They didn't spend too long together at the club, with Keane leaving in late 2005. However, Heinze claimed his relationship with the Irishman was strong after that moment. He went on to make 83 appearances, scoring four goals, before moving to Real Madrid.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Response to Keane vs Heinze
Sir Alex Ferguson attends Scotland v Greece at Hampden Park
Heinze recalled legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson phoning him to say he was aware of what had happened between the two players. He explained that the Scottish boss wasn't surprised, and it was what Keane was like.
Heinze explained: "[Then-manager Six Alex] Ferguson called me up and told me that he knew what had happened. I asked him if I needed to apologise... I mean he was the biggest idol of Manchester United's history.
"He [Ferguson] said, 'No, Roy was like that.' But he told me not to worry because Roy had already forgotten about that episode."
pundit roy keane
Now the Arsenal assistant manager, Heinze admitted he was 'very scared' to come across Keane on the training ground, but nothing else came of the incident. He concluded:
Statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 08-03-26.