Wayne Rooney Recalls Argument with Roy Keane over X-Factor

Wayne Rooney and his Manchester United skipper Roy Keane were both pretty explosive folks in their time at Old Trafford. Rooney explained their relationship on a TV show that while it got off to a frosty start following his move from Everton, the pair got into an argument on his first away trip to Newcastle years ago and the fight was about a TV talent show and not football.

Rooney recalled the story recently on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show and said he managed to earn Keane’s respect by hiding the remote so he could watch X-Factor even though his captain was already tuned in to rugby.

The former England international joined Manchester United as an 18-year-old in 2004 and has said that he never felt daunted by the prospect of entering United’s first-team dressing room at such a young age, as he has already played with some of their stars for England already. But he feels that he earned the respect of Keane following an argument between the pair on his first away trip to Newcastle.

“I always remember on my first away trip I had an argument with Roy Keane,” Rooney said on Sky Sports. “Roy was watching the rugby match the night before we played Newcastle away and he went to get his food so I turned over and put X Factor on and I hid the remote. He wasn’t happy about it anyway and we had an argument.”

See it here:

Meanwhile, Keane admitted that the duo had ‘clashed’ over the TVremote but didn’t exactly storm out of the room and ended up having to watch the rugby elsewhere, sprotsbible.com reported.

Rooney and Keane played together close to 39 times for United in a span of year and a half as teammates before the latterleft the club to join Celtic in 2006. The pair never won a trophy together in that period, but Rooney went on to bag five Premier League titles and the Champions League in his 13-year-stint at Old Trafford.