Roy Keane had one subject he wanted addressed as _Stick to Football_ discussed Manchester United’s struggles and the Glazer family’s ownership.
Rather than going after the elephant, Keane felt it was time to address the horse in the room.
While Gary Neville argued that the Glazers needed to sell the club, Keane turned the conversation towards how they had gained control in the first place.
**Roy Keane Makes Pointed Alex Ferguson Jab As Neville Demands Glazers Sell United**
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It was a pointed reference to Alex Ferguson’s bitter dispute with John Magnier over the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar, a saga which became entangled with the ownership of Manchester United more than two decades ago.
Keane was eager to revisit it.
> There’s a horse involved in this. No one wants to talk about the horse. Can we talk about the horse? The horse is key.
Neville had been discussing United’s financial position and criticising the Glazers when Keane questioned the origins of their involvement.
We know that, Roy, Neville replied.
> The Glazers have to sell now. They have to sell. I’m sorry, the time has come.
Keane’s insistence on discussing the horse brought one of the more extraordinary episodes in United’s history back into the conversation.
Rock of Gibraltar was a hugely successful racehorse whose achievements were followed by a dispute over the lucrative breeding rights attached to him.
Ferguson and Magnier had been friends, with the United manager enjoying an involvement in the horse during its racing career. Their relationship deteriorated when they disagreed over Ferguson’s entitlement to its stud earnings.
The Scot pursued legal action, arguing that he was entitled to a half-share in the stallion and half of the profits earned at stud. Magnier disputed his claim.
The disagreement had consequences well beyond racing.
Magnier and fellow Irish businessman JP McManus were major Manchester United shareholders through their investment company Cubic Expression. The club’s manager was therefore embroiled in a legal battle with one of its most powerful investors.
The dispute was settled out of court in March 2004.
In May 2005, Magnier and McManus sold their 28.7% stake in United to Malcolm Glazer. That purchase took Glazer’s holding to 56.9%, giving him majority control and providing the decisive breakthrough in his takeover.
The subsequent leveraged buyout loaded substantial debt onto the club, becoming a central grievance for supporters opposed to the Glazers.
Keane’s intervention revisited the dispute which preceded that sale, rather than simply focusing on what happened under the American owners.
It is a subject he has addressed before.
In his 2014 autobiography, _The Second Half_, Keane recalled warning Ferguson about taking on Magnier and McManus and questioning the wisdom of the situation.
> And I told him that I didn’t think it was good for the club, the manager in a legal dispute with shareholders.
More than twenty years after the takeover, Keane clearly still believes the Rock of Gibraltar story belongs in any discussion about how United arrived at this point.
### SEE ALSO: [Roy Keane Compares Manchester United Dressing Room Crisis To His Mick McCarthy Ireland Feud](https://www.balls.ie/football/roy-keane-manchester-united-mick-mccarthy-ireland-666176)