Neville made his international debut forEngland in 1995 and was first-choice right-back for more than 10 years, representing the nation at threeEuropean Championships and twoFIFA World Cups.
After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a commentator forSky Sports until he took the manager position atValencia in 2015. After being sacked in 2016, he returned as a pundit for Sky Sports that year. He was also an assistant manager for the England national team from 2012 to 2016.[6]
Neville is the older brother of twin siblings; his brotherPhil Neville is also a former long-serving player for Manchester United, while his sisterTracey Neville is a retirednetball international.
In the1994–95 season, Neville became United's first-choice right-back whenPaul Parker was ruled out by injury, and remained so until his retirement, although in his first season as a regular player he often found himself on the sidelines asDenis Irwin was switched to right-back withLee Sharpe (normally a winger) filling the left-back role.
Neville scored the first goal of his career in 1997 againstMiddlesbrough in a 3–3 draw,[9] and he went on to score a total of five league goals for United; againstEverton in 1999,Aston Villa in a 2–0 victory on 20 January 2001,[10] the sole goal againstLeicester City on 13 April 2004,[11] and his final league goal came a week later when he scored the second in a 2–0 victory overCharlton Athletic on 20 April 2004.[12] Neville also scored two goals in theUEFA Champions League, the first on 12 March 2003, when he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw withFC Basel,[13] and his seventh and final ever United goal againstLyon on 23 November 2004 in Alex Ferguson's 1,000th game in charge of the club, a 2–1 victory.[14]
Neville formed a successful partnership with Beckham on the right wing, regularly contributing assists.[15]
2005–2011
In January 2005, Neville was critical ofNike for starting anti-racism campaignStand Up Speak Up, accusing them of only being involved forpublic relations purposes.[16][17] Neville made the comments after refusing to wear a training top bearing the logo ahead of a fixture againstrivalsArsenal.[18] Writing inThe Independent, journalistSam Wallace said Neville's refusal, as well as that of teammates Scholes and captainRoy Keane, caused friction between the two teams before the match.[19]
Following Keane's departure in November 2005, Neville was appointed the new clubcaptain. In January 2006, his actions were the subject of some controversy after his celebration in front of the visitingLiverpool fans atOld Trafford, when he was seen to run from the halfway line towards the opposing fans to celebrate the 90th minute injury-time winning headed goal by United defenderRio Ferdinand.[20] His actions were criticised by Liverpool and fellow England defenderJamie Carragher, sections of the media and police who blamed him for disturbances between fans after the game. He was subsequently charged with improper conduct by theFA. Neville contested this, asking if it was preferable for players to act like "robots" and show no emotions. He was fined £5,000 and warned about his future conduct.[21]
Neville recovered from an injury suffered againstBolton Wanderers in March 2007 and in his first match back, a reserve game againstEverton in January 2008, he scored a rare goal in the 21st minute of the game which helped Manchester United to a 2–2 draw.[22]
On 9 April 2008, Neville made his long-awaited comeback againstRoma in theUEFA Champions Leaguequarter-final second leg at Old Trafford, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute forAnderson; Neville was welcomed back to the pitch with a standing ovation, and was promptly given thecaptain's armband.[23][24] It was Neville's 99th Champions League appearance. However, he was not selected for theChampions League final squad on 21 May, though he did join in with the post-match celebrations after United won on penalties following a 1–1 draw withChelsea. Instead, Rio Ferdinand and Giggs lifted the trophy together having shared the captaincy during Neville's absence.
Neville started his first game in 17 months when he captained Manchester United for the2008 FA Community Shield againstPortsmouth on 10 August 2008. He made another start againstZenit Saint Petersburg in theUEFA Super Cup, before making his first start at home since his injury againstVillarreal in the opening group game of the2008–09 Champions League. On 21 September 2008, Neville started his first league game in almost 18 months when he played against Chelsea. Neville extended his stay at Old Trafford until June 2010.[25]
On 27 October 2009, Neville was sent off for a tackle onAdam Hammill in United's 2–0 away win againstBarnsley in the League Cup Fourth Round.[26] Neville added another medal to his honours list on 28 February 2010 when he came on as a substitute forRafael in the 2–1League Cup final win over Aston Villa.[27] He did feature in enough league games to qualify for what would have been his ninth title medal, but United were beaten to the Premier League title by Chelsea who finished ahead of them by a single point. Neville signed a new one-year contract in April 2010.[28]
Having made only sporadic appearances in the last couple of seasons, Neville stepped down as team captain in September 2010 in preference of a more-regular first-team player, usually Rio Ferdinand,Nemanja Vidić orPatrice Evra, although he remained as club captain off the pitch.[29] On 24 October, Neville made his 600th appearance and his penultimate start for United in a 2–1 away victory againstStoke City; after receiving a 34th minute yellow card for a foul againstMatthew Etherington, Neville was shown leniency seven minutes later for another reckless tackle on the same player, and was substituted at half-time forWes Brown.[30][31]
Histestimonial was played at Old Trafford againstJuventus on 24 May 2011. Manchester United's starting line-up included members of the "Class of '92": Neville was joined by Phil Neville, Beckham, Butt, Scholes and Giggs. Juventus won the match 2–1.[39][40] He made another appearance in Paul Scholes' testimonial at Old Trafford on 5 August 2011, playing for theNew York Cosmos in their first fixture since their re-establishment in 2010.[41]
Neville made his first appearance forEngland in 1995 when he was picked byTerry Venables for the friendly againstJapan.[42][43] On 23 May 1996, he was joined in the England team by Phil Neville for a match againstChina;[44] they had also appeared together in the1996 FA Cup Final two weeks earlier and thus were the first pair of brothers to play together in an FA Cup-winning side and for England in the same season sinceHubert andFrancis Heron in 1877, 119 years earlier.[45]
He was subsequently selected at right-back for his country by five different coaches. The form ofManchester City'sMicah Richards, Liverpool'sGlen Johnson and Neville's Manchester United teammate Wes Brown placed his position in the England team under threat in the latter years of his career.
Neville had been the youngest first-choice player in the England first team during his debut tournament,Euro 96, playing in each game until the semi-final, for which he was suspended after receiving a yellow card in two separate games. England wereknocked out by the eventual winners,Germany, in a penalty shootout. In June 1997, he participated in theTournoi de France, the friendly international football tournament held in France as a warm-up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[46] He also played in the1998 World Cup under the tenure ofGlenn Hoddle as manager. As "a bit of a sceptic", Neville did not seeEileen Drewery, thefaith healer Hoddle had brought into the England squad.[47] Neville also played atEuro 2000 during the tenure ofKevin Keegan as manager.
A broken foot ruled Neville out of the2002 World Cup,[48] but he quickly returned to the side after regaining his fitness, and was once again the first-choice right-back by the time ofEuro 2004, with the team now being managed bySven-Göran Eriksson.
Neville missed the latter stages of the qualification campaign for the2006 World Cup with injury. He returned to the England team in March 2006 for a friendly againstUruguay. Neville was selected for England's2006 World Cup squad.[49] He played in England's opening Group B game againstParaguay but pulled his calf in training the night before the team's second game and was forced to miss the next three games until playing the full match in England's losing quarter-final againstPortugal on 1 July. It was his 81st England cap, bringing him up to ninth in the all-time rankings, ahead ofGary Lineker and teammateMichael Owen, who had briefly drawn level with Neville during the World Cup.
Neville briefly took over the England captaincy during this game after the substitution of David Beckham due to an injury shortly after half-time, despite the previous match's deputy captainJohn Terry also being on the field.
After the defeat to Portugal, Neville announced that he would continue to be available for selection for his country under new coachSteve McClaren and added that, unlike some former international teammates, he would not ever make the decision to retire from the England set-up, saying, "That decision is not Gary Neville's to make". As one of three club captains (along with Terry andSteven Gerrard) in the first-choice England line-up, he was mentioned as a contender for the England captaincy vacated by Beckham after elimination from the World Cup. However, Terry was given the job and Steven Gerrard made vice-captain.
On 11 October, Neville was involved in a game-changing incident during aEuro 2008 qualifier againstCroatia when his straightforward backpass hit a divot and took an unfortunate bounce, causing goalkeeperPaul Robinson to miss his kick, which resulted in the ball ending up in the net.[50][51] Although Robinson was at the centre of the moment, Neville was officially credited with anown goal,[52][53][54] the second of his England career; he scored no goals for England in his 85 international appearances.[55]
On 7 February 2007, Neville won his 85th and final cap in England's 1–0 friendly defeat toSpain at Wembley.[56][57][58][59][60] His appearance took him to within one cap of equalling Sansom's record for an England full-back, and eighth in the all-time appearances list for his country. However, an ankle injury suffered on 17 March 2007 while playing for Manchester United robbed him of the chance to equal Sansom's record, as he was forced to miss the Euro 2008 qualifiers againstIsrael andAndorra on 24 March and 28 respectively. Surgery on his ankle ruled him out of two summer matches at the newWembley Stadium, and then acalf muscle injury delayed his recovery in the autumn. These injury problems together with a perceived decline in ability threatened to put an end to Neville's international playing career.[61] England ultimately failed to qualify for Euro 2008 following a 3–2 home defeat to Croatia on 21 November.[62]
On 24 May 2009, Neville was given a surprise recall to the England squad byFabio Capello for the World Cup qualifiers againstKazakhstan andAndorra,[63] but did not feature in any of these games.[64]
Neville holds or co-holds a number of England records:
When he came on as asubstitute in a 2–1 friendly defeat againstItaly atLeeds in 2002,[65] he earned his 51st cap, breaking the record for a right-back held previously byPhil Neal[66][67]
His 11 appearances for England in the European Championship finals (over three tournaments) is a record
With his brother Phil, the Nevilles hold the record of England's most-capped brothers, with 142 appearances between them. It was Phil's appearance as a substitute againstIsrael in 2007, a game for which Gary was injured, which broke a record they had jointly held withJack andBobby Charlton[68]
The Nevilles hold outright the record for the most appearances in the same England team by a pair of brothers with 31, although the 31st in 2007 came a whole seven years after the 30th
Neville wrote in his autobiography that, at times, he had reflected on his international career and thought sometimes that it was "a massive waste of time", and that success with United was "always the most important thing".[69][70]
Style of play
An experienced and dedicated footballer, regarded as one of England's greatestright-backs,[71] and as one of the best Premier League full-backs of his generation, Gary Neville was an aggressive, tenacious, and hard-tackling player, known for his work-rate, professionalism, determination, and consistency as a defender; due to his positional sense, he was also capable of playing as acentre-back on occasion.[72][73][74][75][76] Under England manager Venables at Euro 96, Neville was also required to play in other different roles depending on the opponent, including as a right-sidedwing-back andwinger, in addition to his typical roles of right-back and right-sided centre-back.[77][78] Although he was not the quickest, tallest, strongest, most talented or most technically gifted player, he was a reliable, traditional defensive-minded right-back, known in particular for his tactical intelligence and ability to read the game, as well as his stamina, work-ethic, authoritative presence on the pitch, and leadership, which enabled him to excel in this role; as such, he has been described as an "old-fashioned" defender, due to his combative playing style.[72][73][74][75][76][79] During his career, Neville also formed a notable partnership with David Beckham down the right flank at Manchester United:[15][76] he would often carry up the ball, lay it off to his teammate, and subsequently make overlapping runs to advance into more offensive positions, from which he could receive passes and deliver accuratecrosses, providing an additional attacking threat to his team when Beckham was heavily marked.[72][80] A vocal presence on the pitch and an opinionated dressing room personality, Neville also drew controversy throughout his career for his outspokenness and tendency to be involved in conflicts with opponents.[76] His former manager, Ferguson, once described him as "the best English right-back of his generation".[76]
Managerial career
England assistant manager
Neville, who holdsUEFA Pro Coaching Licences, was appointed to the England senior team coaching staff by newly appointed managerRoy Hodgson on 14 May 2012 along withRay Lewington and goalkeeping coachDave Watson, signing a four-year contract with the FA.[81] This saw him on the coaching team for Euro 2012, and was met with the backing of former England and Manchester United teammate David Beckham, who called his appointment a "shrewd move".[82] Neville continued to work asassistant manager of England through the2014 World Cup and subsequentEuro 2016 qualifying campaign.[83]
Valencia
Neville was appointed as head coach atValencia in Spain on 2 December 2015. Neville's brother Phil had previously beencaretaker manager and continued to work with his brother at the club;[84] Neville also retained his England assistant coaching role while at Valencia.[85] The decision to hire Neville was met with much surprise in Spain, due to his lack of prior experience, and as he was not fluent in Spanish.[86][87][88] On 9 December, Neville managed his first game in charge of Valencia, suffering a 2–0 defeat against Lyon in theChampions League; as a result, Valencia finished third in their group, and were demoted to theUEFA Europa League.[89]
On 3 February 2016, Valencia lost 7–0 away toBarcelona in theCopa del Rey semi-final first leg. This came after the team had gone eight games without a victory inLa Liga since Neville took over, leading to criticism from the press as well as the club's fans, who called for him to resign.[90] A week later, Valencia were eliminated from the tournament after a 1–1 draw in the return leg.[91]
Having started with a sequence of nine winless league matches, Valencia recorded their first win under Neville in a 2–1 victory at home againstEspanyol on 13 February 2016.[92] On 17 March, in the return leg of Valencia'sUEFA Europa League round of 16 tie, Neville was sent off for protesting againstAthletic Bilbao's goal to the officials; although Valencia won the match 2–1 at home, they were eliminated from the tournament on away goals, following a 2–2 draw on aggregate.[93][94] On 30 March 2016, Neville was sacked by the club.[95] At the time of his sacking, Valencia were 14th in the league, six points clear of the relegation zone, and had won only three of their 16 league games under Neville, also failing to keep a single clean sheet.[86]
Club ownership
In 2014, it was announced that Neville, along with fellow Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville, had agreed to a deal to purchaseSalford City ahead of the 2014–15 season,[96][97] with plans to get the club toThe Football League.[98] The group announced they would take part in a special friendly, with Salford facing aClass of '92 team.[99][100][101] On 22 September, the group agreed to sell a 50% stake in the club to billionairePeter Lim.[102][103] Salford obtained promotion in their first season, as documented in theClass of 92 television programme for theBBC.[104]
Ahead of his testimonial in 2011, Neville revealed he would spend the proceeds towards a supporters club and hotel near Old Trafford.[105][106] Despite objections from Manchester United, Neville's plans were approved in 2012.[107] In 2013, Neville and Ryan Giggs launched a hospitality company named GG Hospitality,[108] with plans to build football-themed hotels and cafés around the United Kingdom, initially inManchester and London.[109][110][111] The first operation was a football-themed restaurant named Café Football inStratford, London, which opened in November 2013,[112] withHotel Football, previously under the guise of the supporters club Neville announced in 2011, scheduled to be opened in late 2014.[113]
In 2015, Neville and Ryan Giggs gained planning permission for a second Manchester hotel which will not be football themed. The pair will be redeveloping Manchester's former stock exchange building into a boutique hotel. Giggs and Neville bought the 1906-built Northern Stock Exchange Building for £1.5 million in 2013. The Grade II-listed building is on 4 Norfolk Street and will have 35 beds, a gym, spa, roof-top terrace, restaurant and bar. Zerum, Gary Neville's property consultancy, acted as agents for the application for planning permission.[114]
Along with other United players who won the 1992FA Youth Cup, Neville founded a higher education institution in Greater Manchester, namedUniversity Academy 92 which offers "broader courses than traditional degrees" and aims to attract students who "otherwise might not go on to higher education". It opened in September 2019 in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. As of August 2022, it has 400 students.[115]
In January 2022, it was announced that construction had begun on the £120 millionSt Michael's redevelopment project inManchester city centre. The development will feature "a new public space (St Michael's Square), 191 hotel rooms, 181 apartments and a rooftop restaurant capable of hosting 900 guests".[116]
Media career
Neville wrote a weekly full-page column in the Sports section ofThe Sunday Times of Malta,[117][118] the widest circulating newspaper in the country, which is home to the oldest recognised Manchester United Supporters' Club.[119] He joinedSky Sports at the start of the2011–12 season, taking over as match analyst onMonday Night Football fromAndy Gray[120] alongsideJamie Redknapp. Neville had previously done some punditry work forITV Sport during the 2002 World Cup, which he missed due to injury, and for Euro 2008, which England did not qualify for. In 2014, he began presenting Sky Sports'Monday Night Football with broadcasterEd Chamberlin. Former England teammate and retired Liverpool defenderJamie Carragher joined a year later. Neville and Carragher have been praised for their analysis, with their formeron-field rivalry adding to their personalities on-air.[121] His commentary for aFernando Torres goal for Chelsea against Barcelona in the2011–12 UEFA Champions League semi-finals second leg garnered notoriety and was dubbed a "Goalgasm".[122][123] On 8 August 2014,The Daily Telegraph announced that Neville would be joining their staff as a columnist.[124]
In taking his managerial job at Valencia in December 2015, Neville quit his position as a regular Sky Sports pundit after four years in the job.[125] After being sacked from the club during the 2015–16 season after only four months, in 2016, Neville returned to his position as a pundit for Sky Sports for the 2016–17 season.[126] Neville participated as a pundit in ITV's coverage of2018 FIFA World Cup.[127] and in the2020 UEFA European Championship. In 2021, Neville started his ownYouTube channel, named The Overlap, on which he interviews figures from the world of sport.[128]
Neville has regularly been praised for his well-researched and neutral analysis, and he is now regarded as one of the best football pundits on British television,[129][130][131] withGary Lineker saying he would like to work with Neville onMatch of the Day,[132] andDes Lynam also praising his switch from player to pundit.[133] Neville has also received criticism from some in the sport for being overly opinionated or excessively harsh in his analyses; in 2011, Chelsea managerAndré Villas-Boas spoke out against comments Neville had made about Chelsea during a period of poor form, accusing him of being "biased",[134][135][136] while in 2016,Hernán Crespo was critical both of Neville's punditry and his tenure as Valencia's manager, stating, "To watch a game from the TV, it's very different than from the bench. I'm almost happy for Gary Neville's troubles at Valencia. I remember he was too harsh as a TV pundit."[137]
Neville has spoken out publicly against the dominance of foreign players in the Premier League. In 2013, he said: "We have reached a tipping point. You haveCristiano Ronaldo atReal Madrid andLionel Messi atBarcelona but in the Spanish league 63 per cent of their players are still Spanish. That sounds about right. We've gone too far in England. We're maybe 20 per cent off. We need to give chances to our own."[138] In July 2018, Neville was interviewed by theDigital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee about the proposed sale ofWembley Stadium. Neville described it as a "short-term plan we'll regret forever". He suggested taking a 25% cut of agents' fees to fund grassroots football instead.[139]
In 2021, when reports emerged that a number of European clubs (including six Premier League clubs) were breaking away from the European football pyramid system to form aEuropean Super League without meritocratic relegation and promotion, Neville publicly opposed the plans.[140] Shortly thereafter, the European Super League collapsed amid a strong backlash.[140] Two weeks later, Neville expressed support forAnti-Glazer protests, which occurred in light of the attempted creation of the European Super League, and is part of a movement dating back to 2005.[141]
In 2024, Neville began making guest appearances on the British reality television business programmeDragons' Den.[142] He has invested in a number of businesses including sports recovery company MyoMaster run by formerHarlequins rugby playerJoe Gray and his wife, Lottie.[143]
In May 2025, ahead of the final weekend of the2024-25 Premier League season, Neville was refused accreditation to enter theCity Ground byNottingham Forest, forcing Sky to select a different commentary team for the game; this came following critical comments Neville had made about Forest ownerEvangelos Marinakis earlier in the month.[144][145]
Neville was a talented cricketer as a schoolboy and played alongside future England captainMichael Vaughan at the Bunbury Cricket Festival and younger brother Phil forLancashire's Under-14 team,[148] and also forGreenmount Cricket Club in theBolton Cricket League, for whom on 19 July 1992 he scored 110 not out in an unbroken partnership of 236 with Australian professionalMatthew Hayden in a Hamer Cup tie against Astley Bridge.[149]
In July 2009, he was awarded an honorary degree from theUniversity of Bolton for his outstanding contributions to football.[153]
In January 2010, it was reported that Neville has applied for planning permission to build an eco-friendly home, which would be the firstzero-carbon house in northwest England.[154] Neville's testimonial game was reported to be the most eco-friendly game in English football history.[39]
On 16 April 2022, Neville revealed that he will be banned from driving after reaching 12 penalty points on his licence and issued an apology.[160]
Neville drew public criticism for his support and financial partnership with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he worked for the Qatari national broadcaster for an undisclosed fee.[161][162][163] He was called out byIan Hislop on an episode ofHave I Got News For You prior to the World Cup, for supporting a state known for serious human rights abuses.[164][165]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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