Roy Keane said that he “never had any bond” with Sir Alex Ferguson when he was captain of Manchester United.

Between 1993 and 2005, Keane played for Manchester United and won the Champions League, seven Premier Leagues, and four FA Cups. He did all of this while working under manager Alex Ferguson.

From 1997 to 2005, he was captain of the club. After leaving Old Trafford on good terms, he then joined Celtic.

Nowadays, managers are more likely to be close with their players than they were when Keane played, but the Irishman said he never wanted to become close with his managers.

In an interview with Sky Sports, he said he “didn’t believe in it,” but he did admit that managers and leaders should sometimes be close. 

He told them, “I think it depends on the personalities of the manager and the club captain.” I don’t think it has to be as friendly as what they have going on there [at Tottenham]. The boss has only been there for a few months, but I’ve never had a friendly relationship with any of the managers I’ve worked for.

I didn’t believe in it because it didn’t fit who I am. When I went to Forest with Stuart Pearce or especially when I went to United and saw some of the senior players and captains, they would usually go up to the manager in the morning for a chat and a cup of tea. But I never did that; I never thought it was appropriate to be friendly or close to any of the managers I worked with.

Keane was told that he had worked for Ferguson for a number of years and had unmatched success as captain of the team.

It was quickly shot down that the two were close, and Keane hinted that he felt wronged by the United icon when he left. 

He said, “There was never any bond there, not at all.” Some people say we had a good relationship, and I think I had two or three private talks with the manager while I was at the club. It was just “get on with it,” “do your job,” “go out and perform week in and week out,” and “be a good pro around the place.”   

“There’s a reason the manager made you captain.” It doesn’t mean having cozy conversations over tea and cookies in the morning. That never worked for me, and I’m glad I never got close to a boss like that. 

“That’s just my opinion; there’s no need for it. Why get close when you know they’ll have to make tough choices at some point? And, in my experience, just when you think you’ve done something good for them, they throw you under the bus anyway, but that’s a story for another day.”