"I cannot say I hate them" - Ex-Manchester United star fires back at Roy Keane
Nemanja Matic has responded to Roy Keane who criticised him last season for saying he cared about both Manchester United and Chelsea.
The 34-year-old also defended Harry Maguire who has been receiving a lot of criticism recently.
Matic left Old Trafford in the summer transfer window and joined Roma where Jose Mourinho is currently at the helm of affairs.
The former Serbia international left United in search of more game time but Keane criticised him for saying he cared about both the Red Devils and Chelsea.
“Where’s the standards at the club? Where’s the desire to keep going, keep going until the end?” the famous pundit asked in April (as per Manchester Evening News).
“The players, Matic talking about ‘I’m leaving, I’ve had a great time… Man United will always be in my heart, oh and Chelsea as well, by the way, oh and Benfica – don’t forget them’. They can’t all be in your heart.”
In response, Matic said that he respects Keane but he has to understand that modern football has changed.
“I have respect for what he has done but he needs to understand that football has changed,” He told The Times. “If I played for Chelsea, I cannot say I hate them. I cannot be angry when I’m talking to the press after the game.
“The way he behaved on pitch, 70 per cent of it is a red card today. You cannot throw a punch when all the cameras in the world are there. The real hero is when you go out on the street and say something, but he was always very nice with me, so what he says in public, to be honest, I don’t really care. I know what I’ve done in my career and I’m very happy.”
Roy Keane has never shied away from calling a spade a spade. However, Matic has made a fitting reply to his criticism.
The 34-year-old has rightly pointed out that football has changed. Players nowadays are scrutinised for whatever they say or do in public.
And he certainly cannot make negative comments about his old club in front of the media.
The Roma star also defended Maguire and condemned the abuse he has been receiving recently.
He said: “What people are doing to him, it is a disaster. Everything has to have limits and some of these people writing on social media, they don’t have their own lives so they just have to write bad things about someone else.”
Matic is right about Maguire who has been receiving a lot of abuse recently.
It is true that he hasn’t been performing well and has rightly been benched by United boss Erik ten Hag.
The centre-back certainly deserves some criticism but to single him out for abuse is completely unjustified.
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