"There has been a bit of to-ing and fro-ing between the two players for the last three of four years, particularly from Haaland's side. He has had plenty to say. But we've never complained [to the FA] when Haaland has been making comments about Roy. Every week, it seemed, or at least every time we played City there was some comment or other."
Haaland ain’t no angel and even his international team mate Henning Berg said Haaland knew what to expect: "Haaland knew that Keane would take him in that battle - it was no surprise."
Haaland was trying to take the moral high ground yesterday: "I've had a lot of calls on this," he said yesterday. "But all that matters to me is getting fit."
The press have buried the fact that Haaland's injured knee is not the one with which Keane connected, but Haaland is reported to believe that ‘the collision and fall aggravated the injury’.
Meanwhile our old mate Chris Bird wants to get his name in the national press:
"We will discuss the implications with Alfie, the various football authorities and our advisers before deciding on an appropriate response," Bird twittered yesterday.
Taylor revealed that the PFA had offered to broker peace talks but the invitation had been declined. "It's left Roy in an extremely vulnerable position in terms of possible legal action," said Taylor. "The last thing we need are players ending up in witness boxes but football is not above the law.
"Football should ultimately be about respect but we now have a situation where both Manchester clubs are in the Premiership and there are player vendettas going on that could and incite trouble."