Watch Roy Keane break character with rare laugh thanks to brilliant quip from his one-time bitter rival Patrick Vieira

ROY KEANE broke character with a rare laugh thanks to a brilliant quip from a one-time bitter rival.

Keane was one of football’s toughest characters during his heyday.

Roy Keane could not stop himself from laughing after reuniting with a former rivalX @SkySportsPL

The Irishman played 480 times for Manchester United while winning seven titles and a Champions League.

And his 12 years at Old Trafford saw Keane clash with numerous foes.

But one player managed to forge a particularly strong rivalry against him.

And Keane was reunited with him this weekend for a hilarious encounter.

Step forward none other than former Arsenal ace Patrick Vieira, who won three titles and four FA Cups during nine years in London.

The two Premier League legends appeared on Sky Sports today ahead of Brighton vs Nottingham Forest.

Manchester United hero Keane was in the studio alongside Micah Richards and Theo Walcott.

While Arsenal icon Vieira was in Chicago, USA, to host an event for American fans.

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And it saw the two men reunite after going up against each for nearly a decade as players and captains of their respective former teams.

Both combative midfielders, Keane and Vieira were always the heart of the fiery epic battles between United and Arsenal in the late nineties and early noughties.

X @SkySportsPL

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira made Keane crack up with a hilarious quip[/caption]

Getty

The two men often had fiery encounters while captaining Man Utd and Arsenal[/caption]

Perhaps their most famous clash occurred in the Highbury tunnel in February 2005, which came just nine months before Keane left United after a bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson.

It also happened to be Vieira’s final season under Arsene Wenger.

And the two men had to be separated after furious words were exchanged before kick-off, which United won 4-2.

Since their respective retirements and spells in management, Keane and Vieira have shown a begrudging respect for each other.

But notoriously grumpy Keane could not help cracking a smile and a laugh as he and Vieira had a jokey clash on live TV.

When asked why he wasn’t in the studio with Keane, the Frenchman quipped: “I can’t be in the same room as Roy Keane so I’m better being in Chicago!”

Vieira and Keane’s clashes often got very heatedGetty

They are regarded as two of the best combative midfielders in historyGetty

Richards and Walcott then lit the fuse by digging into their old rivalry.

Vieira responded: “I think he’s the one who started (the rivalry) because he was always scared of me.

“And I think every time he was facing me he was scared of the quality and the challenges that I was giving to him.”

But a smiling Keane was having none of it as he countered: “Patrick, you know I was never scared of you. You are kidding yourself!”

Fans at home certainly loved the interaction between Keane and Vieira.

One said: “This rivalry is more intense than any derby!”

Another declared: “Great banter.”

One noted: “Sounds like a buddy comedy where both stars are too stubborn to admit they actually just want to be best friends.”

Another added: “Theo and Micah are like two school kids at the back of the bus.”