Roy Keane was key to Manchester United's dominance over English football in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Irishman was an absolute warrior in midfield throughout his career, and, on top of that, he was a genuinely world-class footballer.

Known for his fierce tackles and combative nature, 'Keano' was a vital cog in Sir Alex Ferguson's reign of terror, winning seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and a Champions League for his efforts.

Owing much to these achievements on the pitch, Keane's football career has continued to be embellished off it. Nowadays, you can see him disparaging the modern game as a pundit for Sky Sports.

For those who loved his business-like manner back in his heyday, that same no-nonsense approach has been carried into his media work, and when he was asked back in 2019 about which players he played with he would consider to be world-class, the answer was just five.

It put Keane in a nutshell. He rarely lets anything slip, and back in his day (which he so often likes to reflect upon), there was no such thing as the term 'world-class'. There were good players, there were bad players, and then there was a grey area between the two ends of the scale.

But such is his scrupulous core, the Irishman genuinely believes he only ever played alongside five players who fit the newfangled term, with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo both remarkably missing from his selection.

Ryan Giggs

Career span: 1990 - 2014

In Keane's opinion, for someone to be labelled 'world-class', they must have played at a consistently high level for many years. Perhaps, then, there is no surprise that Ryan Giggs got a mention first. He is one of the most decorated footballers of all time; he is one of only 44 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances, and played a part in all 13 of his manager's Premier League title-winning campaigns.

“If I look back now, you’d have to class Giggsy. I always class the world-class players as lads who were doing it for nine, 10, 11 [years] – obviously, Giggsy’s done it for a lot longer. To me, that’s the key to being a really good player: you’ve got to be consistent," Keane said about his former teammate.

“We see players now, they’ve had a good month and patting themselves on the back. You have to be good for years and years, and Giggsy would have been a prime example.”

Mark Hughes

Career span: 1980 - 2002

Keane's explanation behind choosing Mark Hughes was put pretty plainly, even by his standards. All he said was: "Listen, Mark Hughes was a brilliant striker." Of course, a lot of the United players back in his day liked to do their talking on the pitch, and that's something listeners needed to pay attention to after this quote to get a better understanding as to why Hughes was picked.

Hughes was the first player to win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award twice, in 1989 and 1991, as well as having been the only person to have scored in the Community Shield, League Cup final, and FA Cup final in the same season, doing so in the 1993/94 campaign. Finishing his playing career in 2002, after scoring 154 goals in 432 appearances for the Red Devils, Hughes won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a European Cup Winners' Cup.

Eric Cantona

Career span: 1983 - 1997

Through picking Eric Cantona, Keane continued in his uncommunicative manner, as he said: “Eric [Cantona] was a brilliant player. I know people say ‘Eric didn’t do it on this stage and that stage – the international stage… but a brilliant player to play with.” But, again, the charismatic Frenchman didn't need much introduction.

To a significant extent, Cantona's arrival from Leeds United in 1992 changed everything for Manchester United. The Marseille-born forward was Sir Alex Ferguson's key to igniting a lasting and triumphant tenure with the Red Devils as the two would go on to win five Premier League titles together, alongside two FA Cup triumphs. Often the pantomime villain, his maverick ways forced him into an early retirement just a year before he could have been crowned with France. But the fact that he impressed Keane as much as he did in such a short time says a lot.

Paul Scholes

Career span: 1993 - 2013

"Scholesy was brilliant," Keane said after picking Paul Scholes as the penultimate world-class player he shared the pitch with. However, in a one-club career that spanned 718 appearances, United's fanbase would have a lot more to say about the Englishman. Scholes came through the Man United academy as one of 'Fergie's Fledglings', a group of players recruited by the club under the management of the Scot, before going on to become one of the best Premier League midfielders of all time.

Though he played mostly as a striker in his youth and early professional career, Scholes matured into a well-rounded, tenacious, and versatile playmaker capable of playing in any midfield position, often alternating between defensive, offensive, wide and box-to-box roles, due to his stamina, vision, work-rate, and positional sense, and this is something likely to have earned him brownie points in the eyes of Keane and the masses.

Denis Irwin

Career span: 1983 - 2004

A theme within Keane's selection was that each player could put up an argument about being one of - if not the - best in their position. This is, again, the case with Denis Irwin, who emerged as a serious contender as one of the best Premier League left-backs ever during his long and successful residency in the north-west. Keane rarely does this, but he couldn't help wax lyrical about his compatriot, saying:

“Denis Irwin… My god, imagine if Denis Irwin was playing now. He could play left-back, right-back, get you a goal, knew how to defend, never injured, a brilliant guy in the dressing room. Denis would be world-class to me – and he’s a Corkman!”

Irwin has also been regarded by Alex Ferguson as, pound for pound, his greatest ever signing, coming in for a fee of just £650,000. This was certainly repaid after the Irishman went on to win the Premier League seven times between 1991 and 2002.

All statistics in this article via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 30-10-26.