‘I should have ripped his head off’ – Roy Keane reveals rift with Iran boss and former Manchester United coach Carlos Queiroz

Roy Keane has said one of the biggest regrets of his career was ‘not ripping Carlos Queiroz’s head off’ after the pair fell out at Manchester United.

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Keane was in the TV studio on Wednesday to watch former Red Devils coach Queiroz’s Iran team take on Spain in the World Cup.

The 65-year-old Portuguese has been widely praised for his work as Iran boss, and they proved a stubborn opponent to one of the tournament favourites as Spain escaped with the slimmest of 1-0 victories.

However, when asked about his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant after the game, Keane didn’t pull any punches.

The ex-United captain revealed they fell out shortly before his explosive exit in 2005, after he questioned the Irishman’s commitment to the club.

“In his second spell when he came back, for some reason towards the end of my time I found him to be really disrespectful towards me so we had a bit of fallout,” he said on ITV.

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“He questioned my loyalty and I told him where to go.

“And one of my big regrets is that I probably should have ripped his head off – but he’s an excellent coach and he’s doing an excellent job, it has to be said.

“He was probably a bit defence-minded but I had a good relationship with him, particularly in his first spell at the club.”

Queiroz had two spells at United, the first one lasting from 2002 to the summer of 2003, but after a season at Real Madrid he was invited back to join Ferguson's coaching staff in 2004, where he stayed for another four years.

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Former United star Patrice Evra was also on the ITV punditry team alongside Keane and sang the praises of Queiroz.

The Frenchman, 37, said: “Carlos is someone who you feel like never smiles, but his training sessions are perfect.

“When he left United, tactically it was not the same.

“But as a person, he’s really difficult, I would say [that].”