Manchester United legend Roy Keane has revealed that he issued an apology to Harry Maguire for going overboard with his analysis of the defender.
During his time at United, Maguire has often found himself on the wrong end of criticism from ex-players and the media.
Keane in particular has been one of Maguire’s biggest critics. After the Red Devils’ 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in 2021, the Irishman performed an impression of Maguire as he accused the central defender of lacking professionalism.
Speaking on Sky Sports at the time, Keane branded both Maguire and teammate Luke Shaw “an absolute disgrace to the club” for their woeful performances against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Earlier this year following a 2-1 loss vs. Fulham, Keane accused Maguire of holding his teammates back from pressing high and aggressively.
The legendary United captain insisted that the team was “frightened to death” of pushing higher up the pitch due to the risk of Maguire potentially becoming exposed.
However, Keane has admitted that he was out of order with his comments on Maguire.
The 52-year-old said on The Overlap, “I was harsh on Harry Maguire for footballing reasons and obviously we do a lot of [Manchester] United matches – obviously he’s struggled at United, had a tough time with England – but more so at club level.”
“We’re on about the mental health of players, and I’ve crossed the line with Maguire – I mocked him a little bit and it’s not nice.”
“I’ve played the game, I know how hard it is, but I’m also big enough. I bumped into Harry a few months ago and I apologized to him.”
Keane added, “Sometimes as pundits we get it wrong as well, but there is a point where you go, if it’s personal then you’re crossing the line.”
Despite United’s struggles as a club, Maguire enjoyed a slightly better 2023/24 season. Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, injury prevented him from nailing down a spot in Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad for Euro 2024.
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