Micah Richards joked that fellow Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane wouldn't be at the top of his list of top ten hardest footballers in a cheeky dig at the former Manchester United man's reputation.
Keane was known during his playing career for being a no-nonsense midfielder with an eye for a tackle.
His 96 yellow cards and ten red cards prove he wasn't afraid to get himself into an altercation or two during his time on the pitch.
But despite being a player few would want to play against, Richards joked that his decision to back down from a head-to-head with Everton hero Duncan Ferguson means he can't be described as the hardest footballer around.
Speaking to BBC's Match of the Day: Top Tens podcast, Richards jokingly tore into Keane, who has become his pantomime villain on Sky Sports punditry.
The two are often seen together in the studio for Super Sunday games, and have become known for their back-and-forth verbals.
Richards joked that Keane 'let him down' by failing to get into it with Ferguson during a game for United.
“I watched some videos because a couple of these are before my time and the reason why he slipped down to number five is because of Duncan Ferguson,” Richards said.
“I was watching clips of Duncan and both Jaap Stam and Roy Keane walked away from a confrontation [with Ferguson].
“I was like, ‘how hard are you really then?’ Everyone did [walk away from Ferguson].
"He’s the ultimate hard man because nobody wants smoke with him.
“Roy Keane let me down, to be honest, because everybody talks about him as a hard man.”
Richards was asked how nice Keane was by Gary Lineker, and jokingly replied: "He's nice with me!"
