Despite not always seeing eye to eye, Peter Schmeichel believes Roy Keane was the best box-to-box midfielder he has ever seen.
The Danish keeper and the Irish legend were mainstays in Manchester United's golden period under Sir Alex Ferguson.
But the pair were not always on the friendliest terms off the pitch, with a pre-season bust up in Asia among their altercations.
Nevertheless they have never hidden their admiration for each other's playing abilities.
Schmeichel, speaking on Off The Ball, said of Keane: "He was, probably in terms of that position, the most dependable player I ever played with," Schmeichel said. "It is such an important position that.
"It is what binds the players that are defending with the players that are attacking, so you kind of have to be both. You are kind of the glue.
"Not only do you have to be very creative when we are in possession and taking part and finding opportunities and finding players who can create the next bit, which is probably the chance.
"You also have to be that guy who spots all the gaps, reads the game and intercepts the ball before this happens, and all that. I don't think I've seen anybody better than that."
He added: "The engine that he had, his authority in midfield to the opposition team, a lot of opposition players were scared of him," Schmeichel said.
"That is a great advantage when you play in that position. He also attracted so much attention on the pitch for other players to find the gaps."
Schmeichel also believes that Keane's presence in the middle allowed other players to flourish, citing Paul Scholes as a prime example.
"[For example] Paul Scholes, it was a great partnership that he had," Schmeichel said. "So, Paul Scholes developing into a central midfield player was quite a surprise, because he was a striker.
"When you look at that team, everybody knows them as the class of '92, you look at Paul Scholes and you see somebody that is extremely skilful, but also not so big; I won't call him small!
"You see that, if he has got to make the next step to close the gap from the reserves into the first team, he is probably going to be struggling a little bit being a striker.
"Then you think, but we don't play in a system where we have a number 10 for instance. So, you are kind of looking at Scholes and thinking, maybe he is not going to make it, because what is the opportunity for him?
"But then he becomes a midfield player, and he can be a midfield player because he plays next to Roy. Roy covers so much other stuff, and then of course he develops. So, that partnership was incredible to play behind."
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
