'He's the most influential football player I've ever seen' — Gary Neville on Roy Keane

Neville says you see the real Roy on The Overlap. 

MOST INFLUENTIAL FOOTBALLER: Gary Neville hails former teammate Roy Keane as the 'most influential football player I've ever seen'. Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has said his former teammate Roy Keane was “the most influential football player” he has ever seen.

Speaking on the Stick to Cricket Show with David Llyod, Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook and Phil Tufnell, Lloyd asked Neville how he got Keane back into the mix going from being manager to The Overlap with Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott and Ian Wright.

Neville said “I think people see the real him there (Stick to Football), which is more of the real him.

“He's a compelling storyteller, funny, loyal, great morals, family man, everything that you would want, but fiercely competitive.” 

Lloyd went on to ask about the relationship between Alex Ferguson and Keane.

“For me, he was the Sir Alex on the pitch. If you've got the coach that's basically unbelievable, you still need a player on the pitch that's going to replicate that. Think about how important you (Michael Vaughan) were as a captain on the pitch” said Neville.

“You're massively influential on the game and he was massively influential to us. I mean, without him, I always used to think without him, we were half the team. He was that important. He's most influential football player I've ever seen.

“In terms of my career at United. He is the most influential footballer I have ever seen. In terms of the impact he had on everyone in that dressing room.” 

Lloyd went on to compare to Bryan Robson Neville said that he was only with Robson towards the end of his career as he made his debut for his last game.

“I was with Bryan for the last couple of years at the end of his career. My debut for United was Bryan’s last game. I witnessed Bryan for a couple of years in the youth team and he was a huge influence but I didn’t get Bryan at his absolute peak. But Roy is the biggest influence I have ever seen on a football team.”