Robbie Keane blames Rafael Benitez for his unsuccessful stint at Liverpool, and says how Tottenham hold a special place in his heart out of all his past clubs.
The Irish forward, who retired in 2018, made the switch to the Reds in 2008 from Tottenham Hotspur with a £19million price tag – but found himself returning to Spurs just half a year later. During his brief tenure at Anfield, Keane featured in 28 games, scoring seven times and providing five assists.
In that season, Liverpool were aiming for the Premier League title, with Keane bought as part of the push for glory. Despite their efforts, they finished second, trailing Manchester United by a mere four points.
Keane shed light on why he didn't flourish at Liverpool in a 2017 interview with Graham Hunter for Pundit Arena, blaming Benitez's positional decisions. The former striker felt misplaced on the pitch due to Benitez's experiment to play him as a left winger.
Keane said: "He wanted to change me to a left winger. I am clearly not a left winger, and that is obviously clear for everyone to see. The first 20 minutes he wanted me to play left wing, and obviously I had never played it before, so it was new to me.
"When I did play up front I scored goals. But when I did play, I wasn't going to play the next day, which for a striker is very difficult. He tried to turn me into something I'm not, and that was always going to be a recipe for disaster as someone used to scoring goals."
The 44-year-old did, however, acknowledge his "respect" for Benitez, and even credited him for offering the best tactical guidance throughout his career. Keane continued: "I respect every manager I've worked with.
"They all have their ideas, different ideas, and whether I agree with them it doesn't matter. I'm not a left-winger, as we've established from 20 years of playing football, but tactically he was probably one of the best I've worked with. He knows the game inside out."
Following his retirement, Keane noted that Tottenham remains the club closest to his heart. He added: "I had the great privilege to represent and captain Tottenham over 238 games. I had many wonderful times there and I will look back on my days at White Hart Lane with great fondness. The club will always hold a special place in my heart.
"To all those who believed in me, supported me and picked me up when I needed a hand, you can never know how much that has all meant. It was an honour to represent you."
Spurs were the team who Keane made the most appearances for in his career, while he also represented Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan, Leeds, Celtic, West Ham, Aston Villa and finished off in India with ATK FC. However, LA Galaxy was also where he spent a large amount of his career, spending five years with them in the MLS in his later days.