Gary Neville is a legend at Old Trafford and his entire life, even his childhood although subliminally, was spent for Man United. If Gary’s life was classed chronologically (birth, early childhood, childhood, young adulthood, adulthood…), the entire phases would speak Red and his love for Manchester United. However, purposefully, his life can only be grouped into three: background; football career; and personal life. Of course, there is a family, but it is fused with his love for the club.
Background (1975 – 1986)
The Red Fanatic, Gary Alexander Neville was born on February 18th, 1975 in the town of Bury, England. He was the first child of a family of sports enthusiasts, his father Neville Neville was a former league cricketer while his mother, Jill, played netball, rounder, and hockey in the local leagues. As anyone can see, sports flowed in Gary’s blood, and the color was Manchester’s Red.
Gary’s childhood was spent doing two things he loved most: hating Liverpool FC and defending Manchester United’s prestige.
Gary grew up in Bury and attended Chantler Primary that was just 10 miles away from Manchester and perhaps less than 10 miles away from the Theater of Dreams. That should have guaranteed the young diehard Red fan a safe haven, but that was ridiculously far from it. The reason was not far-fetched. Gary’s childhood coincided with the 80s, the era of Manchester United’s core rivals, the Red Meyersiders; Liverpool. Liverpool was the team of the era: glamorous; flamboyant; and successful, highly successful in fact. It was, therefore, the most natural thing for every kid then, except Gary of course, to be a Liverpool fan.
Now, Gary did not just have The Neville’s sports genes in him; he had the family’s argumentative prowess too. So, going to a school full of Liverpool fans as a United fanatic with a flair for arguments, it was always going to be unpleasant. Even more than his books, Gary defended Man United although all he was armed with was his fighter attitude and Robson, his idol. It didn’t end in school, though, it extended to all aspects of Gary’s life, even at the playground.
Gary’s loyalty to Man United, if traceable, would be to his father’s unending support for the team too. And so in 1979, as a four-year-old, Gary was going to Old Trafford to watch his favourite team play as long as he would not distract or disturb his father’s time with his mates. For a kid who could have done anything for the Red, the condition was nothing he couldn’t keep. His love for the club was powerful and overwhelming, and he would have left no stone unturned in proving it.
You play football because you love the game, but in many ways, it’s the dressing room which gives you the most cherished memories. That’s where you share the banter; you come together with your mates, you crack jokes and celebrate titles. It’s the private chamber where you learn what it is to be a team. I was determined not to become emotional on my testimonial night. I’ve never been comfortable with too much fuss. I’d just wanted to get it over with. But as the film played, I could feel myself welling up. I’d lived my dream. Red – My Autobiography, Gary Neville.
Gary’s childhood was also spent admiring his idols, most significantly Bryan Robson. He was even at Old Trafford the day Robson signed for the club. Robson was Gary’s only portal out of reality then as well as his favourite mention whenever he was in an argument with Liverpool fans about which club had the best players. Gary had always loved passionate players who played with all they had, and this was what thrilled him with his idol. He loved how Robson flogged himself to the end of every game, charging from the first to the last whistle and giving blood, sweat and tears. Later, he would fall in love with Mark Hughes and Norman Whiteside.
Much has been said of Gary’s hate for Liverpool, but one might not understand until one finds out he was charged £5000 later in his career for a certain celebration towards them, and even that didn’t faze him!
At home, Gary was no different, but family was his safest haven. Every member of his family was a Red too, and so the young fan could go about his duties without any grudge. This was very positive for him, and he did all his chores dutifully always. His time was mainly spent with Phil, his immediate younger brother, the two sharing the Red love. The two used to play football and cricket together most times. Some evenings, they used to play on the Barracks, a huge town field. Gary’s time with family was also spent with Jill, who used to take the kids out to see cricket games.
Gary was good in Cricket as a kid too, an aggressive right-hand batsman with a solid whack. At the age of thirteen, he played for the Greenmount first team in the Bolton League. He was also selected for Lancashire U14s and the North of England schoolboys and played for the England junior team before breaking a finger in the trials for the national team.
Gary’s background was massive in preparing him for his career. His family, idols and time were great shapers, and without these three, he would still have ended up being Gary Alexander Neville but not the Old Trafford legend the world knows today.
Fergie’s Fledglings (1986 – 1991)
Gary’s career with United officially began in 1991 but, off the record, it was in 1986, the year a new sheriff came to town. Sir Alex Ferguson. His career with the club started with Fergie Fledglings and continued to the youth side before graduating into the first team.
At 11 years old, Gary underwent a trial for Manchester United. Out of the 200 kids that went for the trial, very few were chosen, and he was able to make the cut. So, with this, every Monday and Thursday, Neville drove Gary to the Cliff after school. As a United fanatic, he felt accomplished but understood that it was only the beginning. This was where he first met Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and David Beckham before going on to form a great partnership with the trio. They were often identified as ‘the famous quartet’. This was where Gary got his nickname ‘Busy’ too.
From a footballing perspective, the next four years were perhaps the most crucial period of his career. In those years, the young Gary fully understood what it meant to give your best, and even more, to a dream. He was one of the most dedicated and hardworking players among his peers, and soon, his coaches noticed him. By this time, Gary’s position had been compromised to a right-back to remain in the team. Given that there were many more natural and talented midfielders, he understood, believing that making it to the first team was worth it all.
In 1989, at fourteen years old, Gary was offered a two-year schoolboy contract with a two-year apprenticeship to follow. If there was any doubt in his mind over his path in life, if he was suited for football, cricket or perhaps another entirely different career, it was erased now, and all he had in mind was conquering the world with United… and torturing Liverpool fans too! It is significant to mention Bryan Kiddo and Archie Knox, the respective head and assistant coach of the academy, at this level given the massive impact they had on the kids.
There’s a continuing bond between all of us who played in the youth teams of 1992–94 because we know we were part of something special. As much as the Treble, the success of our generation will be a part of Alex Ferguson’s legacy because it is every bit as incredible. I’d say it’s even more remarkable than what we did in 1999 and harder to repeat.
None of us will ever claim to have the aura of the Busby Babes, but ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ have gone down as one of the greatest gatherings of youth talent ever seen, given that the club had Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, Butt and me coming together at the same time, and then my brother a year later. In that group, you are talking about the most decorated player in the history of the English game, the most famous footballer on the planet, the most technically gifted English footballer in decades, the most capped brothers in English history and Butty who matched all our achievements with six championships, three FA Cups, a Champions League win and thirty-nine appearances for England. Red – My Autobiography, Gary Neville.
The Prime Age (1991 – 2005)
Having spent the better part of 1991 on the bench and preferring it because he was scared to put a foot wrong, Gary became assured after playing and winning in a Youth Cup match against the wonderful Sunderland.
In 1992, Busy won the FA Youth Cup with his mates, winning both legs over an adventurous Crystal Palace side. The man himself regards this triumph as the favourite of his career. He was a captain then.
In September 1992, Gary made his first appearance for the first team in goalless drab with Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup.
In the 1994-1995 season, Paul Parker suffered a damaging injury, handing Gary the platform to become the team’s first-choice right-back. In his first season as a starter, he was often sidelined as Dennis Irwin was the main right-back and Lee Sharpe (normally a winger) drafted into left-back. However, as soon as Dennis moved and Gary started playing, he remained first-choice throughout his career.
Given Gary’s position, it is easy to understand why he hardly scored goals, having to wait until 1997 before grabbing his first in a 3 – 3 draw with Middlesbrough. In total, he scored 5 goals for the club throughout his playing time. With the Middlesbrough goal the first, the second came against Everton in 1999, the third in a 2 – 0 win over Aston Villa in 2001, the fourth coming in a 1 – 0 win over Leicester City in 2004 and the last just a week later in a 2 – 0 victory over Charlton Athletic. In Europe, he netted twice: the first in a 1 – 1 tie with FC Basel in 2003; and the last against Lyon in a 2 – 1 victory in 2004, coinciding with Sir Alex’s 1000th game with the club.
Leading the team, lifting trophies, celebrating with Wazza, Scholesy, Becks, even scoring a few goals (they had to do some digging through the archives for those) – and finally a handshake from the boss with the words ‘Thank you, son’, up on the screen.
Red – My Autobiography, Gary Neville.
In January 2006, Gary faced charges for his celebration in front of the visiting Liverpool fans. The celebration saw Gary racing across the field to celebrate before the Liverpool fans after Rio Ferdinand had scored a stoppage-time header. This was deemed inflammatory, and after the game, the police and the media criticized his actions, saying they caused disturbances between fans. The FA also found his celebration inciting and consequently fined him £5, 000 for improper conduct. Neville contested this decision, saying that ‘players were expected to be robots and show no emotion’.
The Treble of ’99
Gary was a part of the treble tea, in 1999. No team had ever done it in any of the big leagues: England, France, Italy or Spain. This was one of the most important moments in the history of the club as well as the lives of the players. The victories were even more historic given that, at the beginning of the ’98 season, people would have picked Arsenal or Real Madrid to make history. United lost to Arsenal twice that season, both matches ending with a 3 – 0 scoreline.
The team had gone through hard times, but it only made the victories more emphatic. At the end of it all, Manchester United became heaven to Gary and many others. No one could have been more thrilled than Gary who had raced across the whole pitch to throw a ball and had gone further in his one and only cameo as a left-winger to force a corner by hitting the ball off a defender. The resulting corner-kick brought the first goal and, considering the morale the goal sparked; it could be said to have brought the second and winning goal too.
I can still see the face of one United fan among the many thousands who lined the road. This guy was screaming so hard that the veins were popping out of his neck. This was the joy that came from deep inside. The best moment of his life had arrived; all his dreams had come true. All our dreams had come true that season. Alongside him were others, blokes from Salford, Trafford, Middleton
and Wythenshawe with tears streaming down their faces. I guess for the older ones, who remembered 1968, this was a return of the Holy Grail. For the younger fans, it was sheer euphoria that we were kings of Europe at last. We’d been striving and failing for long enough. Now, finally, we’d reached the summit. Red – My Autobiography, Gary Neville.
In 2005, Gary became captain after the departure of Roy Keane. And with it, came an even greater sense of responsibility.
Injuries, Then Decline: 2006 – 2011
In March 2007, Gary suffered an injury to his ankle against Bolton Wanderers and was kept on the sidelines until January 2008 when he played against Everton.
Gary returned to the Champions League on 9 April 2008, coming on for Anderson in the 81st minute against Roma in the 2nd leg of the quarter-final. The Old Trafford faithful welcomed him with a standing ovation. That appearance marked his 100th in Europe, and he wore the captain band for the remainder of the match. He was not however included in the squad for the final against Chelsea; a match United won on penalties having finished normal time with a 1 – 1 draw. This was Gary’s second Champions League trophy.
On 10 August 2008, Gary started his game in 17 months, captaining the side against Portsmouth in the FA Community Shield final. His next start was against Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA cup. And then a first start at Old Trafford following an injury in the Champions League group match against Villareal. Gary made his first start in the league in 18 months when he played against Chelsea.
Gary’s decline from the top was not immediate. It was a gradual but steady fall, particularly blighted by injuries to his ankle and, more persistently, his groin. These injuries were understandable considering that the man had been sprinting relentlessly across the pitch for more than 15 years, 20 in fact if his days with the Fergie Fledglings were counted. Sir Alex knowing what the years had taken on Gary, was sympathetic with him, and whenever he was fit, the boss gave him opportunities. But Rafael was proving himself then, the fall was concurrent, and the injuries kept coming. The club understood that they were seeing the last of one of the most ferocious and determined players ever. It was a rough descend for a golden swan from a hill.
The end finally came, against West Brom, not quite in the manner he would have wanted, however. The day was New Year’s day, 2011. After playing for Manchester United for 18 years, after making 602 appearances for the club, the day finally came. Before then, Busy had played 4 times in 4 months and had not played at all in two months, his previous match a win against Stoke City. After the West Brom match, Busy hung his boots for good, having previously wanted to in the last season before the Boss convinced him not to. Gary would later reveal that he had sat on the toilet seat at half-time and accepted all backlash the boss threw at him because he was too tired to protest.
The lights went out. Suddenly the Old Trafford dressing room was plunged into darkness. A television flickered into life. And there was my career being played out in front of me. Red – My Autobiography, Gary Neville.
On 2 February 2011, Gary Neville retired completely from football.
Career With The England National Team
In 1995, Gary made his first appearance for the national team in a friendly match against Japan. The coach then was Terry Venables. Phil Neville joined Gary in the match against China on 23 May 1996, making a strong statement of the Neville’s family on sports. Two weeks prior to the match, the pair had appeared in the FA Cup final, joining the exclusive club of families to win the FA Cup and represent England the same season and the first brothers to do so in over a century, since Hubert and Francis Huron in 1877.
Gary made his professional debut in the Euro 1996 tournament, becoming the youngest player ever to be first-choice for England. He played each of the matches but missed the semis due to yellow card bookings in two separate games. The team lost to Germany, the eventual winners of the tournament, on penalties. Gary played as a first-choice right-back under 5 different coaches for the England national side, although later in his career, he had to cede his position to Micah Richards, Glenn Johnson or Wes Brown.
Under Glenn Hoddle, Gary played at the 1998 World Cup before England crashed out in the round of sixteen to a spirited Argentina team. He is famously remembered for not having any session with Eileen Drewery, the faith healer the coach had brought in.
The next time Gary returned to the national side was to represent England in the Euro 2004 under Sven-Göran Eriksson, having missed the 2002 world cup due to a broken foot injury. In this tournament, Busy was again a starter in the right-back position. Injuries, however, came calling again, and he was forced to miss the latter qualification matches of the 2006 World cup.
His next return was a friendly against Uruguay in March 2006. Sven once again showed his trust in Gary by including him in the World Cup squad, but it was only until the first group match against Paraguay that the trust was let down: Gary suffered another injury, but he only missed the next three matches and was back for the round of sixteen. On July 1st, Portugal ended any dream England had by knocking out at the quarter-finals. The match moved Gary to 9th on the top appearances record for England with 81 appearances, moving ahead of the great Gary Lineker and Micheal Owen. In this match, Gary wore the captain band after an injury to David Beckham at half-time, a surprising selection since John Terry, the deputy captain in the previous matches was on the pitch.
Gary announced his commitment to keep playing for the national team under a new coach, Steve McClaren. He refused to retire as some of his mates had, declaring “That decision is not Gary Neville’s to make.” This was the kind of player Gary was: dedicated and hardworking. Now, due to the retirement of Beckham following an unrest, the captaincy was on offer and being one of the club captains in the team (alongside Chelsea’s Terry and Liverpool’s Gerrard), he was reportedly being considered for the role, but it was quite evident that Steve would rather prefer any of the other two. Consequently, Terry was appointed a captain and Gerrard vice-captain.
Neville earned his 85th cap for England in a friendly 2 – 1 defeat to Spain on 7 February 2007. This appearance left him just one short of meeting most appearances for a full-back, a record held by Sansom. This appearance also took him to 8th on the appearances list. If Gary had any hope of equalling or surpassing Sansom’s record, it was shattered by an injury he picked up while playing for Manchester United in March 2007, sidelining him for the Euro 2008 qualifying rounds against Israel and Andorra. He then underwent an ankle surgery that caused him to miss two summer matches played in the then newly-constructed Wembley Stadium. To make things worse, an injury to his calf muscle caused him to miss the winter matches.
Gary’s unforgivable shot came on 11 October against Croatia in Euro 2008 qualifiers. He had passed a very straightforward back-pass to the goalkeeper, but the ball had bounced before getting to its target and, somehow, bounced past the goalkeeper into the net. Although the goalie was right where the ball followed, the scoreboard displayed an own-goal, courtesy of Gary Neville. For a nation as England, this was forbidden. First the injuries and then this? Majority of the fans called for his head.
These constant spates of injuries, as well as a perceived fall in Gary’s abilities, threatened to put an end to his international career. It should be noted that Busy was at a declining stage at this time, even at his club.
One would have been forgiven for thinking Euro 2008 was Gary’s last time with the national team, but it wasn’t. In May 2009, the new manager, Fabio Capello, recalled him to the team for the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra but it was somewhat a precautionary move given that he didn’t appear in any of the matches.
In 2002, Gary earned his 51st cap for England in a match against Italy, moving him to first on the board of appearances for an English right-back. With 142 caps between Gary and Phil, they hold the record for most-capped brothers in the history of the national team. Also, the two hold the record for the most joint-appearance (31) of any family in the national team.
Strike!
An incidence stands out from Gary’s days with the national team. It was the proposed Rio strike of 2004. This incident earned him the nickname, Red Nev, as well as a branding from The Sun: ‘The most hated footballer in the country’. It seemed then that every England fan hated Gary and Phil, receiving jeers and taunts even while on international duty, and the rebellion only served to damage his reputation.
The proposed strike was triggered by a seemingly unfair and very harsh decision taken by the FA to drop Rio Ferdinand from the squad because he missed (forgot) a doping test. A new FA chairman, Mark Palios, had recently been appointed and he was looking to make a statement while Ferdinand at that time was a young centre-back at United. But Ferdinand’s club wasn’t what motivated Gary’s decision; instead, it was that he passionately felt that the player had been unfairly treated, given that he hadn’t even been tried yet, and that the new chairman was only trying to please the media and his ego.
This led to a rebellion spearheaded by Gary. The demand was apparent: “include Ferdinand in the squad or count me out of the squad”. Soon, other players joined the strike, and in the last meeting, all 23 players participated in the movement. The following day, the news was all over the media, and that was when some players truly understood what they were into. Palios, the chairman, made it clear that the team would be getting nowhere with its demand and at this stage, some players denounced the strike.
However, Gary refused to quit. And the next day, he had packed his bags before mysteriously staying in the team. Many years later, in his autobiography, he discloses that a call from the most important person, Sir Alex, changed his decision. He also says that he would have put his neck out for anyone regardless of club or differences, after all, he had done the same in 2001 when the FA requested to change the revenue-allocation percentage of the Premier League.
Gary’s swiftness to stand for Ferdinand, who he admits was not even a close mate then, proves his unwavering belief in justice and fairness. Although he was misjudged, insulted and probably hated for it, Gary still maintains his stance on the issue.
Managerial Career
England National Team
Gary’s first managerial position came in 2012. He was appointed as one of the first team coaching staff by new coach Roy Hodgson, along with Ray Lewington and goalkeeping coach Dave Watson. His contract with the FA ran until 2016, hence working with the team in 2012 Euro, 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euro qualification campaign. Gary’s time as an assistant manager was not particularly memorable, but that was down to the head coach, Roy, anyway. Gary holds the UEFA Pro Coaching licenses.
I’d had no idea the film was coming, but I couldn’t have devised a better way to finish than being gathered in that dressing room with the boss, the present-day United lads and all the old gang including Becks, Phil
and Butty, all back for my testimonial.Red – My Autobiography, Gary Neville.
Valencia FC
On December 2nd 2015, Gary was appointed as the head coach of Valencia FC, a Spanish team that plays in La Liga. Before then, Phil, Gary’s brother, had served as caretaker manager for the club and continued with the arrival of his brother. Gary’s appointment as a head-head coach was startling and unexpected, given that he was mostly inexperienced on the sidelines and was also poor in speaking Spanish. Furthermore, many expected a coach to start from the bottom of the ladder.
Gary’s reign with Valencia started with a loss, a 2 – 1 result against Lyon, a French club, that condemned the team to third place in its group and consequently relegation to the UEFA Europa League. The following weeks were difficult for Gary and the club, with both going on a streak of winless run for 8 weeks. But the most stringent test was yet to come, and when it did, Valencia failed massively: a 7 – 0 drubbing in the hands of Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey. In the second leg, the team managed a 1–1 draw, a result that knocked them out of the competition. At this stage, the media and fans were calling him to be sacked already.
On 13 February 2016, Gary had his first taste of victory with Valencia with a 2–1 home win over Espanyol FC. The victory was short-lived though and, thanks to the away goals rule, Valencia was eliminated from the UEFA Europa League following a 2 – 2 aggregate with Athletic Bilbao, another Spanish side. In the second leg of this tie, Gary was sent off for protesting against Athletic’s goal.
By the time Valencia was 14th in the league table, just 6 points above relegation, won a meager 3 out of 16 league matches and failed to secure a clean sheet in all games played, the management realised the two weren’t a match made in heaven and gave him the sack. This was on 30 March 2016.
Media Career
Gary owns a full-page column in the Sports section of the largest newspaper in Malta, The Sunday Times. Alongside Andy Gray and Jamie Redknapp, he worked as a sports analyst for Sky Sports at the beginning of the 2011–12 season on the show: Monday Night Football. In 2014, Gary became the main presenter on the show, working with Ed Chamberlain, a broadcaster. In the following year, Jamie Carragher joined him on the show, and the two have been complimented for their analyses of the game. In August 2014, Gary joined The Daily Telegraph as a columnist.
Gary quit his job as a pundit in order to take up the Valencia appointment in 2016 and after four months, returned to what he was great at aside playing on the pitch. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he served as a pundit for ITV.
Gary has earned reviews and commendations on his approach to punditry, perfectly blending insight, honesty and a sense of humour to deliver brilliant analysis. However, a typical Gary; he has often been criticised for being too harsh with his words.
“To watch a game on TV, it’s very different from the bench. I’m almost happy for Gary Neville’s troubles at Valencia. I remember he was too harsh as a TV pundit.” Hérnan Crespo
Gary has also lamented the dominance of foreign players in the Premier League, stating that, although with Ronaldo and Messi, 60% of players in the Spanish League are of Spanish origin.
Establishments
In 2014, Gary and fellow United legends, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville bought Salford FC before the commencement of the season. Currently, billionaire Paul Lim holds 50% shares in the club. Salford was promoted to the Football League in their first season.
Gary also co-owns GG Hospitality, a hospitality company with Giggs. This company was launched in 2013 and is the first of many Manchester United themed hotels that the duo plan to establish. Already, they have obtained the license to build another hotel, although it is not going to be Manchester-themed.
The proceeds and revenue from Gary’s testimonial match went into the development of a supporters’ club and hotel built near Manchester.
Personal Life
On 16 June 2007, Gary married Emma Hadfield. Together, they have had two daughters: the first, Molly, born on 11 January 2009; and the second, Sophie, on 25 March 2010.
Tracy, Gary’s younger sister, represented England at an International level too playing netball. She played twice in the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, reaching 74 appearances before suffering injury problems. Phil, Tracy’s Twin, also played for Manchester United before his move to Everton. He also had 51 caps with the national team.
The University of Bolton, in 2009, awarded Gary an honorary degree for his massive contributions to football. Gary is also an advocate of the ‘Save The Earth’ movement, and his testimonial match has been reported to be the most eco-friendly game in the history of English football.
