Agbonlahor reveals training-ground clash that preceded Roy Keane's Aston Villa exit

Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that a direct confrontation with Roy Keane during an Aston Villa training session in October 2014 preceded the former Manchester United captain’s departure from the club the very next day.

Agbonlahor, 39, was one of Paul Lambert’s captains at Villa when Keane joined the manager’s backroom staff in the summer of 2014. Speaking on the In The Mixer podcast, the former striker described a crossing-and-shooting drill that had broken down due to players standing idle between repetitions. When Lambert addressed the squad, Agbonlahor interjected to explain that players were growing cold from inactivity — prompting a sarcastic response from Keane.

“Roy Keane was like, ‘Oh you’re getting cold. Are you wanting to warm up?’” Agbonlahor recalled. “So at that time the players had enough of him. I just said, ‘Roy, I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to the manager’.”

Agbonlahor said Keane responded with a prolonged glare before the session ended. The next morning, Keane was gone. “He left Villa because I think he probably thought, ‘These players are going to make me do something I regret’,” Agbonlahor said. “But for me it was more like, ‘You’re not going to bully me’.”

The episode was not the first sign of tension. Agbonlahor also described an earlier incident in which Keane hurled a Red Bull can into the showers in frustration, a motivational tactic Agbonlahor dismissed as ineffective.

Keane officially departed Villa Park in November 2014 after five months in the role, citing a desire to concentrate on his assistant manager duties with the Republic of Ireland national team. He later acknowledged the friction more candidly during an appearance on The Overlap Live in 2022, describing certain Villa players as “scumbags” for what he characterised as a lack of professionalism in training and their attitude towards Lambert.

The two men have continued to trade barbs in their respective punditry careers since, and Agbonlahor’s latest account adds further detail to one of the more turbulent short-term coaching stints in recent Premier League history.