Roy Keane’s list of foes must be one of the longest in football.
Through the years, Keane has found several adversaries, with several rivals clashing with the Corkonian during his playing career and during his time as both a coach and a pundit.
Recommended
However, some of the most infamous feuds Keane has endured during his career have been with former teammates.
The events in Saipan in May 2002 made Keane a polarising figure among the Irish public, but they also played a big part in the total disintegration of his relationship with fellow star Jason McAteer.
The pair’s fallout was vitriolic, culminating in a violent clash during a 2004 Premier League meeting of Manchester United and Sunderland.
Keane hung McAteer out to dry with a particularly cutting segment in his first autobiography, something McAteer jeered about in the ’04 match. Keane would subsequently be sent off for elbowing his compatriot, something he said McAteer had “deserved” just last year.
Across several interviews earlier this year, McAteer expressed a desire to put his decades-long feud with Keane to bed.
It appears that that has now happened.
READ HERE: Ireland Player Ratings As Electric McCabe Inspires First Leg Rout v Belgium
READ HERE: Katie McCabe Explains Special Post-Match Moment With Returning Ireland Teammate
Jason McAteer claims he and Roy Keane have buried the hatchet
16 November 1998; Jason McAteer, left, and Roy Keane during Republic of Ireland squad training at the Red Star Belgrade Stadium in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Photo by David Maher/Sportsfile
In an interview with SportBible, an “emotional” Jason McAteer revealed that he and Roy Keane had recently met one-to-one and that their relationship was now in a “better place” than it had been for the past two decades.
“Something happened a few months ago and I’d like to think we’re in a, privately, we’re in a better place,” McAteer said.
“You know, I was disappointed with the situation between us.
I’m an admirer of Roy in lots of different aspects, privately and professionally. I’m disappointed that our relationship, it was what it was for 15 years.
We shared a dressing room together. Some of my highlights of my career, qualifying for the World Cup, that took some doing. He was part of that. I hold him in such high esteem as a professional footballer, as an athlete.
I’m glad our relationship is, let’s just say it’s in a better place than what it’s been.
It appears as though one of the most infamous feuds in recent Irish football history may have come to an end (or, at the very least, eased up).
Roy Keane and Jason McAteer’s difference in opinions is depicted in the upcoming Saipan film. Keane is played by Eanna Hardwicke, with McAteer played by Oliver Coopersmith.
