Ex-Man Utd goalie Howard says ‘tough son of a b***h’ Keane was best player he’s played with ahead of Ronaldo
ROY KEANE has been labelled a "tough son of a b***h" by former team-mate Tim Howard.
The recently retired American also claimed that no-one he played with was better than the controversial Irishman - including Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 40-year-old retired this week after playing his final ever match last Sunday - skippering Colorado Rapids in a 3-1 defeat to LAFC.
The 121 cap US international spent three years at United before a loan spell at Everton in 2006 - made permanent a year later.
And even after making 399 Premier League appearances, Howard believes that no team-mate could beat the influence of Keane.
He told : "I played with so many great players and leaders in my career, but to me, none was better than Roy Keane during my time at Manchester.
"He was the toughest son of a b***h I ever met. Nothing short of brilliant.
“As a coach, he taught me about resilience. And never giving up on myself. I took so much of what I learned from being around him and used it over the rest of my career, trying to pass it along to the next generation.”
Keane skippered United to FA Cup and League Cup triumphs during Howard's Old Trafford stay - the only club trophies the three-time MLS All-Star won in his career.
Ronaldo was also part of those two trophy-winning sides - scoring in both finals.
And while Howard named Keane ahead the Portuguese megastar as the best player he played with - the former United captain also omitted the five-time Ballon d'Or winner when lavishing praise on former team-mates.
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When asked on Sky Sports which of his former United colleagues were truly world-class, Keane named Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes, Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona and Denis Irwin - with no mention of Ronaldo.
The former Celtic midfielder has not been shy of making headlines this season - having recently claimed that his old nemesis Patrick Vieira would not have gotten into his Manchester United team.
After England's shocking 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic, Keane blasted England's stars - claiming that Danny Rose was "abysmal" and that forgotten men Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard may never play for England again.