Keane reveals he ‘apologised’ to Man Utd star; admits he was ‘out or order’ for ‘mocking’ the defender

Roy Keane has revealed that he “apologised” to Man Utd defender Harry Maguire after he “mocked him” during a spell of poor form.

Maguire has been the object of ridicule over the past few seasons for supporters of opposition clubs and some Man Utd fans with the England international making a number of mistakes.

The centre-back has had a disproportionate amount of grief for his performances while other underperforming Man Utd players have escaped with less criticism.

Keane has been one of Maguire’s biggest critics , and rightly so at times, but the Man Utd legend admits he “crossed the line” and had to apologise to the England defender.

“I was harsh on Harry Maguire,” Keane admitted on the Stick to Football podcast .

“You hope to keep it to footballing reasons and obviously we cover a lot of Manchester United matches and he was struggling at the time.

“But you also think about the mental health of players and I definitely crossed the line with Maguire.

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“I remember one time I kind of mocked him a little bit and that is definitely out or order. I crossed the line and listen, I played the game, I know it’s not easy.

“But I’m also big enough that I apologised to him. Sometimes we pundits get it wrong too.”

Maguire was named in Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for Euro 2024 but missed out on the 26-man England party due to an injury he picked him towards the end of the season at Man Utd.

England’s performances have been concerning, despite topping the group, with Southgate’s side looking sluggish in their matches against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.

Maguire’s replacement Marc Guehi has played pretty well so far and England fans will be hoping the team can up their performances when they face Slovakia in the last 16 on Sunday .

Speaking after being ruled out of the Euros, Maguire said: “I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer.

“Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf. Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted. For me, representing England is the highest honour.

“It means everything to me. If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan – along with the rest of the country. Go and win it boys.

“Next, I will return to the supervision of the Manchester United medical team in order to prepare for next season.”