Rio Ferdinand insisted that Juan Sebastian Veron could have been a great talent at Manchester United, but he struggled during his two years at Old Trafford because of Roy Keane’s presence in midfield.

Veron moved to the Red Devils from Lazio in 2001 for £ 28.1 million – thus a record transfer to the Premier League – and initially seemed to have settled in well in the English game.

The Argentine won the Premier League Player of the Month award in September during his first season after scoring three goals in four games.

However, he struggled to maintain fitness and performance levels and was eventually sold to Chelsea for £ 15 million in 2003.







(Image: Daily Mirror)



Despite Veron’s status as an expensive flop, ex-teammate Ferdinand discovered the talent he saw after joining the Red Devils in 2002.

When asked to choose between Veron and ex Real Madrid midfielder Guti on Instagram Live, Ferdinand said to his followers: “Oh, what a good question. Veron or Guti … for older listeners, older viewers here, Veron, Sebastian Veron, scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen in training.

“The little rabona thing, the bang from the middle line, the whole training session stopped, stopped: ‘Did you just see it, what Juan Sebastian just did there?’

“He was an incredible player, a great passerby. The only thing I think killed him is that Roy Keane was probably a bit more of a dominant personality and was picking up the ball in his positions. “

Ferdinand explained why Veron fought for not being the focal point of the United attacks, adding: “You must remember that Veron came from Lazio, Parma, where he was the main man, the whole game went through him. He came in United, that’s what Roy Keane did.







(Image: action images)



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“Keane arrived and took him out of the defenders, passed him to the midfielders and attackers, got positions and was very vocal, like ‘Yes, give me the ball! Give me the ball! ‘

“And out of respect, Seba probably just said,” I’ll let Roy keep doing it. “But Seba was an extraordinary talent. I honestly think that without Roy Keane there he could have thrived with a Man United shirt.

“I think Roy Keane was his problem. And it wasn’t Roy Keane’s fault, it’s just that his personality was bigger and more powerful. “