[Legend killer]

Let me point out Fergie stated this after seeing them all during there prime and was before he could be blinded by loyalty personal bias etc

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Roy Keane as his greatest ever player ahead of Tuesday's testimonial for his former captain, who brings his new team, Celtic, to Old Trafford.

It will be Keane's first return to the club since November, when he departed under a cloud after criticising his team-mates, but United still expect a record attendance in excess of 70,000 for a player Ferguson clearly still admires.

"People ask me why I say Roy Keane is the best I ever had," said Ferguson. "Would I say he was better than Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes, or Ryan Giggs? He wasn't as talented as them, nowhere near.

"But his obsession with winning and the demands he put on other players made him the most influential player in the dressing room. And he became a great captain through that. That's why he was my best player. He was fantastic.

"Decades from now, when they pick the best United midfield, Roy Keane, will always be there."