There are two valid reasons you shouldn’t omit Roy Keane from your all-time Manchester United XI.
Firstly, he was one of the best midfielders of his generation and the driving force behind some of the club’s greatest triumphs. And secondly, if you ever bump into him, you may end up on the wrong end of his infamous death stare.
However, Juan Mata is clearly a brave man, as he has opted against selecting the Corkman in his greatest ever United XI. Peter Schmeichel starts in goal behind a three-man defence of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra.
David Beckham, Bobby Charlton, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are in midfield, while George Best, Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona are up front.
A formidable team, but one perhaps lacking midfield balance due to Keane’s absence.
However, it’s difficult to argue against the inclusion of United legends Scholes and Bobby Charlton, so we’ll cut Mata some slack over his decision to omit Keane.
In fact, such exercises are pretty thankless tasks, and you’re unlikely to ever find two people with the same all-time XI.
