Roy Keane has defended Gary Neville after his former Manchester United teammate received an unhappy message from David Luiz following critical comments made back in 2011.
That year, the Red Devils beat the Blues 2-1 to close in on the league title during Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge.
And Neville, who was working for Sky, didn't hold back - insisting that the centre-back played like he was 'being controlled by a nine-year-old on a PlayStation'.
Now, on the latest episode of The Overlap, the former United skipper has revealed his regret at his choice of words.
"How we say things, we have to change how we do it [regarding] the responsibility of words and what damage they can do," he said.
"I said that line about how David Luiz looked like he was being controlled by a 10-year-old on a PlayStation in the crowd (in 2011). I at the time thought it was a great line, everybody thought it was a great line."
Neville then proceeded to reveal that Luiz messaged him a years later, during his second spell at Chelsea, following more brutal criticism from the Sky pundit.
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Roy Keane has defended Gary Neville after his former Manchester United teammate received an unhappy message from David Luiz following critical comments made back in 2011
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He added: "He actually direct messaged me four or five years later. I didn't repeat the line but I said something like 'there he goes again' and he messaged me [after] which had an impact on me because he said 'here you go again my friend'.
"I thought, he's a human being, that's stuck with him."
Pundits have sometimes overcrossed the mark in the past. Neville, clearly, regrets what he said about the Brazilian.
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David Luiz experienced a difficult start to life in English football at Chelsea back in 2011
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But Keane has now defended his former United teammate, with the 54-year-old insisting that those analysing football matches can sometimes overstep the mark.
He even admitted to apologising to Red Devils star Harry Maguire for being too overcritical in the past.
Keane responded: "But pundits are entitled to make a mistake. As pundits we do have to be careful but we can't become robots either.
"Also we're emotional too when we're watching games. I'd hate to be sat there as a pundit (emotionless).
"I was critical of Harry Maguire and I apologised to him. As pundits if we do cross a line and we are affecting a player if we've gone overboard, then you do apologise.
"On a matchday we do sometimes get carried away and frustrated with a player. It doesn't mean I don't think he's a good lad."
David Luiz won trophies such as the Premier League and Champions League during his time at Chelsea
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Luiz first moved to the Premier League back in January 2011, with the defender moving to Chelsea from Portuguese giants Benfica.
He experienced a rough start to life in English football, though did score twice in his first 12 appearances.
Luiz proceeded to bounce back, however, helping Chelsea to defy the odds to beat Bayern Munich and win the Champions League in 2012.
His time in west London appeared to be over when he left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2014, with Jose Mourinho sanctioning his exit.
But, in the summer of 2016, he came back for a second stint.
Luiz continued to become a cult hero at Stamford Bridge, starring as Chelsea won the league under Antonio Conte the following year. He eventually left for Arsenal in 2019 and has since turned out for Flamengo, Fortaleza and Pafos.