Man Utd legend Roy Keane threatened to 'smash' Arsenal star in dressing room rant

Manchester United legend Roy Keane told Gerard Pique he wanted to ‘smash’ former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas in a dressing-room rant.

Keane’s rivalry with ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira is legendary but the Red Devils hero clashed with more than one former Gunner during his impressive career.

The Republic of Ireland hero came up against a teenage Fabregas in the 2005 FA Cup final and felt the Arsenal youngster was a little overzealous with his tackling, claiming at half-time that he had ‘killed him’.

Keane spoke to former United defender Pique in the dressing room – the Spaniard attended the final but was left out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s matchday squad – and threatened to ‘smash’ Fabregas in the second half.

The final ended goalless after extra-time and Arsenal won the penalty shootout 5-4 with Vieira scoring the winning spot-kick after Paul Scholes’ effort was saved by Jens Lehmann.

Fabregas, speaking to The Times, said: ‘I tackled Roy Keane really hard and I felt really good about it because he was always giving me a tough time.

‘A few years later, Gerard Pique [his friend from Barcelona’s La Masia academy] said to me that at half-time Keane said, “That Spanish friend of yours, I will smash him, he killed me.”‘

While Keane is known for being a fiery character both on and off the pitch, he remains one of Manchester United’s greatest ever players, having made 480 appearances for the club and winning 12 major trophies during his 13-year spell at Old Trafford.

In 2020, Gary Neville named his former United teammate as ‘the most influential person’ he’s seen in football and revealed how daunting it was to replace Keane as club captain.

‘I’d had Roy Keane as the captain for 10 years. Roy left really quickly,