Money can't buy class.
That is the gist of Diego Forlan's
latest column in UAE newspaper The National.
The former Manchester United striker has penned a piece on why he believes Pedro Rodriguez should not have rejected Chelsea ahead of his old club.
In the excellent column, however, there is a classic observation from Roy Keane.
Forlan writes, 'As a player, I know who’d I’d choose if Manchester United and Chelsea came in for me.
'[United are] one is one of the three clubs biggest in the world; the other is a club who’ve grown because of a rich owner.'He continues, 'I always remember my old captain Roy Keane before a game against Tottenham Hotspur.'Roy said "Tottenham think they’re a big club and they are in London, but they’re not really a big club, they don’t compare to United."'Chelsea are the same. When I moved to England they were not a team which came close to winning big trophies. Money changed them.'
Keane famously ripped the ball off Forlan in 2004 when United were awarded a penalty and he was attempting to break his scoring duck. The Irishman wanted the designated penalty-taker to dispatch the spot-kick.Keane recently told Matt Cooper, 'I have a soft spot for Spurs and still do.'
Perhaps their lack of steel upsets the boy in Keane to this day.
Back to Forlan's column and the Uruguayan states, 'I’ve seen the argument that London is more attractive to players than Manchester. If a player wants to go shopping in Harrods then that might be the case, but the players I know want to play football.
Maybe Keane had a greater influence on Forlan than we will ever know.
