Nemanja Matic has hit back at Roy Keane’s suggestion that his association with Chelsea affected his performances for Manchester United.
After a comment earlier in the year that his heart still partly belonged to the Stamford Bridge club, where he won two Premier League titles and an FA Cup over two spells, Keane questioned Matic’s “desire” to play for United.
The Serbian midfielder responded in an interview with The Sunday Times and said: “I have respect for what he has done but he needs to understand that football has changed.
“If I played for Chelsea, I cannot say I hate them. I cannot be angry when I’m talking to the press after the game.
“The way he behaved on pitch, 70 per cent of it is a red card today. You cannot throw a punch when all the cameras in the world are there.
“The real hero is when you go out on the street and say something, but he was always very nice with me, so what he says in public, to be honest, I don’t really care. I know what I’ve done in my career and I’m very happy.”
Matic, now at Roma and undertaking his coaching qualifications under manager Jose Mourinho, also defended Harry Maguire from the criticism of his displays for United and England.
“What people are doing to him, it is a disaster,” he added.
“Everything has to have limits and some of these people writing on social media, they don’t have their own lives so they just have to write bad things about someone else.”
