Gary Neville has hailed his former Manchester United teammate Roy Keane as the greatest Premier League captain of all time.
Neville and Keane played alongside each other at Old Trafford for 12 glittering years at the height of United’s success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The ex-Republic of Ireland midfielder arrived from Nottingham Forest in 1993 and was appointed skipper four years later, leading the club to the famous 1999 treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
Neville, meanwhile, spent his entire playing career with the Red Devils and also served as captain after Keane departed for Celtic in 2005.
(Image: Press Association)
The former England right-back had big shoes to fill, and he has has no doubt his predecessor was the finest to lead a Premier League team.
Neville quoted a Sky Sports tweet asking who the greatest Premier League captain of all time is with the simple statement: “Roy Keane.”
The duo have joined forces once again after retiring as both are regulars on the broadcasting giant’s top-flight coverage.
Keane was renowned for his fearsome, no-nonsense approach during his playing days which he has carried over to his punditry.
Many consider his main competition for the accolade of greatest Premier League captain to be Chelsea legend John Terry, who skippered the Blues to five Premier League titles.
Manchester City hero Vincent Kompany won 10 major domestic trophies while at the Etihad and is also in the frame.
Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira shared a bitter rivalry with Keane during his playing days and, alongside fellow Gunners great Tony Adams, warrants consideration.
Vieira served as captain from 2002 to 2005, while Adams holds the unique accolade of skippering a team to a top-flight title across three decades.
‘Mr Liverpool ‘ Steven Gerrard is also regarded as one of the greatest to pull on an armband in the Premier League despite the fact he failed to win the division during his stunning career.
But in Neville’s eyes no one comes close to matching Keane, whom he described as “the most inspirational football player that I played with” in 2018.
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Discussing Keane on Sky Sports, Neville said: “He wasn’t only the best player on the pitch most weeks, which obviously is a fantastic thing with a captain, then everyone else will sort of follow your lead…
“But just the influence he had in terms of his standards, the fact that he made everyone else feel 10-foot tall, the fact that he demanded from you all the time. He was almost like Sir Alex Ferguson out on the training pitch and in the changing room.
“There was never any drop in standard from Roy.”
