Football

Gary Neville

Gary Neville Sky Sports

Gary Neville is a Sky Sports pundit and a former defender for Manchester United, who he captained during a 20-year affiliation.

Neville was a boyhood Red Devils fan and part of the esteemed Class of '92 (to use the name of the documentary about them) which graduated from the academy that year.
David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes also featured in the documentary.
Neville served as England's assistant manager under Roy Hodgson from 2012 to 2016 and later had an unsuccessful and brief stint in charge of Valencia from 2015 to 2016.

He is also one of the co-owners of Salford City FC, alongside his brother Phil, Beckham, Giggs, Butt, and businessman Peter Lim.

Sky Sports success

As a pundit, Neville is famous for being outspoken, seldom afraid to criticise even his own club.

He has been a notable critic of racism and the proposed European Super League, which would have featured at least 12 elite clubs from Europe but been a closed shop preventing most other clubs from participating.

Neville and fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher rallied supporters against the proposal with success.

"The Glazers have no place in Manchester anymore," Neville stated alongside Carragher.

Manchester United career

Neville joined Man United as an apprentice after leaving school in 1991. In 1992, he made his breakthrough in the first team. He made his way up the ranks just as Man United were heading into an era of dominance at the beginning of the Premier League era.

After making his first team debut against Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup in September 1992, Neville had to wait until the 1994/95 season to become United's first-choice right-back.
After Paul Parker was ruled out by injury, Neville became a regular in the team, although he had to compete with Denis Irwin, who was moved to right-back for cover.
Neville was a noteworthy figure for United in their Premier League title triumphs under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1995/96, 1996/97 and 1998/99.
In 98/99, Man United won an historic treble, also lifting the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, becoming the first English club to win those two trophies coupled with the league title in the same season. They remain the only side to achieve this feat.
Neville's first goal for United came in 1997 in a 3-3 draw to Middlesbrough and he went on to score four more in the league for the Red Devils, also striking a solid understanding with Beckham on United's right flank.

On this day in 2011: Gary Neville hangs up boots

In 1999/2000 and 2000/01, United retained their Premier League title. However, they were faced with the threat of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.

The Gunners won the league in 2001/02 only for United to wrestle it back in 2002/03, but then came arguably the darkest years of Neville's time at Man United.

In 2003/04, Arsenal won the Premier League without losing a single game as the Red Devils finished behind the North Londoners and Chelsea - who, at the time, were in their first season under the ownership of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

In 2004/05, Chelsea steamrolled to the title, smashing records for points and fewest goals conceded, leaving Arsenal in their dust and United third once again.

The following season, Chelsea were champions again as United edged Liverpool into second place, but suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to the Blues to seal the title for Jose Mourinho's men.

However, in 2006/07, the balance of power swung the way of the Red Devils again, buoyed by the emergence of a young Cristiano Ronaldo.

Neville played a key role again, featuring in 24 matches, though his involvement subsequently decreased.
Neville missed almost the entire 2007/08 season due to injury as United won the Premier League and Champions League, edging rivals Chelsea to both.
In 2008/09, he came back into the fold as they won a third Premier League title in a row for the second time during Neville's stay at his boyhood club.
Chelsea won the Premier League title back from United in the 2009/10 season after Ronaldo left Manchester United, but Neville played a minor role in the 2010/11 campaign which saw United win the title again.
In February 2011, during the campaign, his playing career came to an end.

Gary Neville and England national team

Neville made his senior England debut in 1995 under the guidance of Terry Venables against Japan and went on to become the first choice in his position at Euro 1996.
England made the semi-finals, but were eliminated by Germany in a penalty shootout in a match which Neville missed through suspension.
He went on to play at the 1998 FIFA World Cup under Glenn Hoddle and Euro 2000 under Kevin Keegan, but missed the 2002 FIFA World Cup due to injury.
Under Sven-Goran Eriksson, Neville featured at Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, both of which ended in quarter-final exits at the hands of Portugal in penalty shootouts. He briefly donned the captain's armband at the 2006 World Cup, but was never made permanent captain.
Neville remained in the side under Steve McClaren and his backpass to Paul Robinson was missed by the goalkeeper in a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier, meaning that Neville was credited with an own goal. England failed to qualify for the tournament.

Gary Neville, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes celebrate a goal

The Mancunian was occasionally on the fringes of the squad under Fabio Capello, but played no part on the field of play during his reign. Neville ended his career with 85 international caps.
He went on to serve as an assistant to Roy Hodgson from 2012 to 2016, playing a role at Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.

Short reign at Valencia

Neville was appointed Valencia head coach on 2 December 2015, but his ill-fated reign lasted only 16 league matches, with only three wins before he was sacked with the team six points above the relegation zone.
"I kick myself to this day, not for saying yes [to Valencia], but for the mistakes that I made. They were stupid mistakes," Neville told The Blank Podcast.
"Not taking over an experienced staff with me that spoke English and Spanish was a bad mistake, it was naive."
Neville also said that he should have removed players from the side who were making his job difficult, but instead failed to truly stamp his authority over the team.

Personal life

Apart from his brother, Phil Neville, Gary Neville has another famous sibling in sports: Tracey Neville - a former England netball international player and head coach.
Neville married Emma Hadfield on 16 June 2007 and went on to have two daughters in the next three years - Molly and Sophie.

Gary Neville's net worth

According to the Daily Express, Neville earns around £1million annually for his punditry on Sky Sports.

Gary Neville News