Rio reveals the moment he realised Roy Keane was ‘a crazy man’

Rio Ferdinand has recalled the moment that he realised former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane was “crazy”.

Having moved to the Red Devils for a then British record fee of just under £30million, Ferdinand was identified by Sir Alex Ferguson as the right man to bring defensive solidity to a United defence that was struggling a little at the time.

But the former England skipper soon realised how different life at United was to West Ham and Leeds, after recalling his first training session with the club.

“I got the ball and passed to Gary [Neville], who was on my team,” said Ferdinand. “In a normal game that was a great ball – pass to your teammate, go up the pitch.

“And then Keane turned round and just started going: ‘Pass it forward, take risks, you’re not at Leeds or West Ham now, you’re at Manchester United!’

“I stood there and thought: ‘This guy is crazy man, what’s he doing! I passed it to a team-mate, surely I’m doing alright.’

“I got home later that day and thought: ‘This guy is nuts, how am I going to deal with him on a daily basis?’

“And then I realised that you’ve got to take chances and that’s how I ended up playing my career. Not just passing the simple ball to Gary, but into the strikers to make a difference.”

 

The best United news direct to your Facebook timeline: Like our dedicated Manchester Utd Facebook page.