Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has revealed he has no time for ice baths, much to the amusement of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright.
In the latest episode of The Overlap on Tour in Istanbul, conversation turned to ice baths, which are often taken by footballers to aid their recovery after matches.
Neville, who retired back in 2011, revealed he still takes them and proudly declared that he can last up to six minutes in the bath, but Keane was far from impressed. Â
‘All that’s a waste of time, I’m telling you lads,’ he said. ‘I looked into it, I’ve done my homework on it. Ice baths, the new garlic bread.Â
‘I’m telling you, it’s a waste of time. It’s the new thing. Leave it.’
Roy Keane (second right) left Jamie Carragher (second left) and Ian Wright (right) in stitches after dismissing ice baths
Even Gary Neville (left) couldn’t keep a straight face despite trying to convince Keane that ice baths are beneficial
Keane’s ‘garlic bread’ reference – a nod to a famous sketch by comedian Peter Kay – left Carragher in stitches, while Wright also couldn’t stop himself from giggling.
But Neville tried to defend ice baths, insisting that they are crucial in the modern game as he told Keane ‘the minor details stack up’.
Keane was having none of it, though, and continued to stick to his guns. Â
After claiming he’d done his research, Keane added: ‘I don’t just throw comments out there like a lot of people.Â
Pressed by Wright as to the information he had on ice baths being useless, Keane replied ‘I’ll tell you after’, drawing more laughs from the rest of The Overlap crew.
Wright attempted to throw his support behind Neville as he said he ‘felt better’ after an ice bath, before Neville revealed that ex-United defender Steve Bruce went the other way during his career and had hot baths before games.
Keane wasn’t in the mood to change the subject and asked Neville outright: ‘Were you having ice baths during the last two to three years of your career?’
As Neville admitted he was, Keane shot back: ‘But you were finished!’
‘What benefit was it (to you)? People running past you!’
At that point even Neville couldn’t keep a straight face as he burst into laughter at Keane’s brutal put-down.
Ice baths are used by modern players, including Erling Haaland (pictured), but Keane is convinced they have no effect on performance
After recomposing himself, Neville jokingly turned to the camera and asked: ‘Anybody want to put some ice bath sponsorship around this programme?’
But it appears likely that Neville’s appeal will fall on deaf ears after Keane made his feelings on ice baths clear.