RIO FERDINAND has admitted he was gobsmacked when Sir Alex Ferguson decided to axe Roy Keane following his infamous MUTV interview back in 2005.
The remarkable episode came shortly after the Red Devils lost 4-1 to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium two months into the 2005/06 campaign.
Club captain Keane, 52, who played 480 times for United and won seven Premier League titles, conducted an interview with club media in the aftermath of the match in which he brutally slammed a host of his team-mates.
This included a dig at Ferdinand, with the Irish midfielder saying: "Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar."
This led to a bust-up between Keane and Sir Alex that ultimately saw the Irish midfielder leave the club.
And Keane's interview was never aired as the Man Utd boss blocked it from being shown.
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Now Ferdinand has opened up about what happened during that time and the way it impacted his perception of Ferguson.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, he said: "We get beat 3-1 [4-1] by Middlesbrough, everyone plays rubbish. Roy Keane does the video analysis and destroys the whole team including me.
"Manager, before it goes out gets wind of it, cancels it going out, says it ain't going out anywhere – 'That is a disgrace, that can't happen'.
"Calls a meeting at the training ground, it goes off. Roy has a go back, it kicks off between the coach and Roy again – some mad stuff said.
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"The next day we go into training and the manager calls a meeting as we go on the training pitch and says 'Just so you know, Roy Keane will never play for this football club again'."
Ferdinand was then asked: "What message did that send to you?"
To which he replied: "Shiver me timbers. Man was like 'Do not f*** with this guy, do not mess with Sir Alex'. This guy is the truth.
"This is our captain [Keane], this is a legend of the football club, a phenomenal player, a great guy to have around the place. When the chips are down, you know you can look to your right and go 'Roy, where do we go now?'
"The manager said 'Not on my watch, this ain't happening, my man is done."
Keane moved to Celtic for one season where he won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup, before he hung up his boots.
He has since claimed his Man Utd departure was not only a result of the MUTV interview, but also about his fractured relationship with assistant Carlos Queiroz.
Ferdinand went on to win six Premier League titles with Man Utd, enjoying a superb 12-year spell at Old Trafford.
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