Former Manchester United team-mates Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane have recalled the time they clashed on an away day over a TV remote.
Rooney left Manchester United after a 12-year spell which saw him leave as the club’s record goalscorer having won 16 major trophies.
But when he first made the move to Old Trafford as a teenager in 2004, he joined a club that had been ultra successful under the captaincy of Roy Keane.
Rooney arrived from Everton having starred for England at EURO 2004 and big things were expected of him under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson.
And while he certainly made an impact on the pitch, he wasn’t scared of making an impact off the pitch with United’s senior players either.
Rooney and Keane clash over remote control
Rooney hadn’t long been at the club when Manchester United travelled up to Newcastle for a Premier League away game.
And in an incident in the hotel, Rooney annoyed Keane so much he told him to “go f**k yourself” and the pair have laughed about the encounter while appearing on a podcast together.
“He’s watching rugby league [Roy Keane],” Rooney said during the Stick to Football podcast on the Overlap.
“So I was sat there – it was Newcastle away – and you had to go out the room to get your food. I think it was my second or third game.
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Topic starts at 53:35
“He’s gone out, and I’ve changed it over to the The X Factor and I hid the remote. So, he’s come back in fuming and we are sat there, and the next thing I know he’s got up and pulled the plug out of the TV.
“I don’t even know if he knows, but about midnight, the club security knocked at my door, and asked for the remote. And I said, I’ve no idea where it is!”
Recalling the story, Keane continued: “I like my rugby league and there was a good game on, and I came back, and I knew the lads were up to no good, the usual, very immature these lads.
“And I was like: ‘Where’s the control?’ And, of course, The X Factor was on. So anyway, I wouldn’t say I stormed off, but I went to bed, and I knew he [Rooney] had done it.
“But he was new to the club, so I thought I would give him a chance. You don’t want to be too hard on him. The next morning, we went down for breakfast, and he comes up to me and goes: ‘Did you find them controls?’
“And I was going to be polite to him but when he said that, I said, ‘go f**k yourself’. We recovered after that!“
Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.