Gary Neville and Roy Keane have clashed over the "mistakes" made by former manager Sir Alex Ferguson during his time in charge at Manchester United.
The duo, who both enjoyed no shortage of success during their respective United careers, got into a heated debate about the long-term issues that have plagued United in recent years. Although the 3-2 win over Tottenham on Saturday evening lifted them back into the top four, deep-rooted issues remain at the club.
It was a discussion over Cristiano Ronaldo that triggered the debate between the two, following an honest admission about the Portuguese star by Ralf Rangnick. The United interim boss said that it is "challenging" to manage the former Real Madrid ace, who has been attracting plenty of criticism of late after travelling to Portugal whilst United were swept aside by Manchester City last weekend.
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It prompted Neville to reflect on how Ferguson used to manage Ronaldo during his first spell at Old Trafford. He left in 2009 to join Real Madrid in what, at the time, was a world-record transfer fee.
"Sir Alex Ferguson had control because of his success," Neville told Sky Sports. However, Keane, who left Old Trafford in 2005 following a fallout with Ferguson, was not in agreement. He immediately responded: "Yes, but Gary, it doesn't mean to say he didn't make mistakes."
"I didn't say he didn't," Neville replied, before Keane doubled down on his admission. "I know you didn't but I just wanted to make that clear," Keane continued. "Everyone talks about ex-managers, saying, 'they had power and control' as if they never made mistakes. They made wrong decisions as well."
Once Keane had finished putting his side of the argument across, Neville continued, outlining how Ferguson's decisions were supported and backed by the club.
"Sir Alex Ferguson could make decisions in the dressing room at Manchester United with control, backing from the club," Neville said, expanding on his original point.
"Ralf Rangnick's in there for four or five months, he's got no strength of position beyond these next few months so players can, to be fair, take liberties with that side of things. If Cristiano Ronaldo has gone back to Portugal because he wasn't selected - that's not good.
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"But what can Ralf Rangnick do about it? He's got an impossible situation where he has to try and get in the top four.
"So he has to either put him in the team or leave him out again and the situation exaggerates and gets even worse. He's in an impossible position because he hasn't got the strength or control.
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