Roy Keane ignored Ronaldo when naming his five world-class Man Utd teammates

Roy Keane has left out Cristiano Ronaldo when selecting the five world-class stars he played with during his time at Manchester United.

Keane joined the Red Devils from Nottingham Forest in 1993 for a then British record transfer fee of £3.75 million and spent 12 years at Old Trafford.

He played 480 times for United, scoring 51 goals and winning seven League titles, the Premier League, four FA Cups, four English Super Cups and one Champions League.

Keane's incredible spell with United saw him establish himself as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history and a legendary captain for the club.

But while he played with a number of big names, Keane believes only five of his team-mates were worthy of being considered "world class".

Ryan Giggs was Keane's first choice, due to his longevity at United.

"We never gave ourselves a chance to talk about players who are world class. But, if I look back now, you'd have to go past Giggsy [Ryan Giggs]," Keane initially said of Sky Sports.

He also included Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes, describing the trio as "brilliant".

But Keane ended up nominating his Cork friend Denis Irwin, who has been his 'roommate' for many years.

"My God, imagine if Denis Irwin was playing now. He could play left-back, right-back, score a goal, knew how to defend, never got injured, a great guy in the dressing room. Denis would be world class for me!", the Irishman concluded.

The 53-year-old did not mention David Beckham or even Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney, with whom he played towards the end of his time at United.

Keane's contract was terminated in 2005 after an explosive interview with MUTV following a heavy defeat to Middlesbrough. He finished his career with Celtic in Scotland, making 13 appearances. /Telegraph/