MX23RW : Thursday, November 28 22:40:48| >> :60:309:309:

Rio Ferdinand: 'Roy Keane killed Juan Sebastian Veron's Manchester United career'

Rio Ferdinand: 'Roy Keane killed Veron's Man Utd career'
© Reuters
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand claims that Roy Keane's dominant personality was the reason Juan Sebastian Veron failed to live up to his reputation at the club.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Roy Keane "killed" Juan Sebastian Veron's career at the club as he was a more dominant personality than the Argentine.

Veron arrived at Old Trafford for an English-record £28.1m fee in 2001 and brought with him a big reputation, but he left United for Chelsea just two years later in a deal worth just over half as much as the one which brought him to England.

Ferdinand played alongside the midfielder during the 2002-03 season and talked up Veron's quality, but believes that the presence of captain Keane ultimately proved to be too much to compete with.

"Veron, Sebastian Veron, scored one of the best goals I've ever seen in training. The little rabona thing, bang from the halfway line, the whole training session shut down, stopped: 'Did you just see that, what Juan Sebastian's just done there?'" Ferdinand said during a Q&A on Instagram.

"He was an unbelievable player, great passer. The only thing I think that killed him was Roy Keane was probably a bit more of a dominant personality and was picking the ball up in his positions. You have to remember Veron came from Lazio, Parma where he was the main man, the whole game went through him. He came to United, that's what Roy Keane did.

"Keane came and got it off the defenders, passed it through to the midfielders and attackers, and got in positions and was very vocal, like 'Yeah, give me the ball! Give me the ball!' And out of respect probably Seba just said, 'I'll let Roy keep doing that'.

"But Seba was an amazing talent. I honestly think without Roy Keane there he might have flourished in a Man United shirt. I think Roy Keane was his problem. And it wasn't Roy Keane's fault, it's just that his personality was bigger and more overpowering."

Veron made 82 appearances for United in total, scoring 11 goals in that time.

ID:394758: cacheID:394758:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2880:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Marcos Rojo in Manchester United training on October 2, 2020
Read Next:
Marcos Rojo completes Manchester United loan exit
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!