‘Roy Keane would tackle his own grandmother to get three points, but he was a pussycat with me’ Lee Sharpe on his relationship with his former Manchester United team-mate

Roy Keane playing for Manchester United in 2003.

Lee Sharpe arrived at Manchester United in 1988 with the club on the cusp of a new era.

Alex Ferguson had been installed as manager two years earlier and after overcoming a few early bumps in the road - including the infamous ‘Ta-Ra Fergie’ banner - the team took flight, with Sharpe a key component in the early 1990s.

During this time he was part of an Old Trafford dressing room that was packed with big characters and big personalities, with two men in particular leaving a lasting impression on the eight-time England international.

Lee Sharpe on the leaders who set the standard at Manchester United

Lee Sharpe arrived at Manchester United as a 17-year-old in 1988 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sharpe had just turned 17 when Manchester United signed his from Torquay United at the end of the 1987/88 campaign and he still remembers the authority that the Red Devils’ then-skipper Bryan Robson carried at the club.

“When I arrived at Manchester United, he ran the show, dictated the pace of play, knew exactly what the game needed at any given moment and would protect everyone else,” Sharpe recalls to FourFourTwo.

Sharpe admired Bryan Robson's leadership skills (Image credit: Getty Images)

He goes on to further highlight just how the man known as ‘Captain Marvel’ was able to act as an enforcer and a leader simultaneously.

“When I first played at left-back, he was never more than 10 yards away every time I got the ball. If anybody kicked me, he’d make sure there was retribution!”

When Robson left the club for Middlesbrough in 1994 he had been Manchester United’s longest-serving captain, but Ferguson was one step ahead when it came to replacing him.

A year earlier, Fergie had broken the British transfer record to sign Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest, a player who quickly brought the same levels of intensity to the club’s midfield.

“Keany would tackle his own grandmother to get three points,” Sharpe adds, before rounding out the former Republic of Ireland skipper’s off-the-pitch persona.

Manchester United broke the British transfer record to bring Keane to Old Trafford (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Off the field, he’s one of the funniest men that I’ve ever met,” he continues. “A great lad in the dressing room and we had some top nights out.

“He wasn’t scary to me, but was for a lot of others – there were a few people’s shoes I wouldn’t like to have been in!

“With me, he was a pussycat.”