Facts about Gary Neville, the retired Manchester United one-club man

Gary Neville is a retired English right-back who made his professional debut with Manchester United when he was 16 and then devoted all his career to

as they enjoyed him for 19 years and 602 games, a record which has made him be recognized as one-club men, while he hung up his boots in February 2011.

He also appeared 85 times in England's national team between 1995 and 2007, becoming the country's most-capped right-back.

He savoured the sweetest moment in the history of the Manchester club and lifted 31 official titles with the English team: 12 Premier League, 4 FA Cup, 8 Community Shield, 3 Football League Championship, 2 Champions League and 2 World Club Cup.

After he was retired from his playing career, he served as England's assistant manager under Roy Hodgson between 2012 and 2016 and made an unsuccessful endeavour at launching a management career of his own at the Spanish club Valencia in 2015, and was sacked the next year.

Besides, he began arising as a Sky Sports pundit in 2011, taking a short break in 2015 before coming back in 2016.

Furthermore, he is very environmentally conscious to the extent of driving a hybrid car to work and building an ecological and sustainable house. He even arranged a friendly game between Manchester United and

, which is recognized as one of the greenest clubs in England.

Likewise, along with Ryan Giggs, he is the co-owner of Café Football restaurant, which is a football-themed eatery in London with a 140 seat capacity.

Top facts about Gary Neville that you might want to know

Here you would go through an engaging ride through some of the most curiosity satisfying top facts about Gary Neville, so buckle up for the long ride ahead.

Gary Neville facts in brief

Bio

• Full name

  : Gary Alexander Neville

• Nickname

  : Red Nev, Busy Busy, Gaz, Captain Courageous

General information

• Date of Birth

  : 18-2-1975

• Nationality

  : British

• Ethnicity

  : White

• Religion

  : Christianity

• Residence

  : Lancashire, England

• Profession

  : Former player and manager, media pundit

• Position

  : Defender - Right-Back

• Foot

  : Right

• Current Club

  : Retired

Personal information

• Estimated Net Worth

  : 25 million Dollar

• Product Endorsements

  : Nike & AIG

• Colleagues

  : Alex Ferguson & Michael Owen

• Cars

  : Toyota Prius

• Marital Status

  : Married (Since 2004)

• Sexuality

  : Straight

• Current Wife

  : Emma Neville

• Ex-girlfriend

  : Hannah Thornley

• Children

  : Molly Neville, Sophie Neville

• Father

  : Neville Neville

• Mother

  : Jill Neville

• Daughter

  : Sophie Neville, Molly Neville

• Brother

  : Phil Neville

• Sister

  : Tracey Neville

• Friends

  : David Beckham

Physical Status

• Hair Color

  : Light brown

• Hair Type

  : Straight

• Hair Length

  : Shorthair

• Hair Style

  : Simple

• Distinct Feature

  : Cheekbones

• Skin Type

  : Normal

• Beard or Mustache

  : Beardless

• Eye Color

  : Dark Brown

• Smoking

  : No

• Height

  : 180 cm

• Weight

  : 82 kilo

• Clothing Style

  : Sporty

• Favourite Colors

  : Red

• Tattoo

  : No

• Feet Size

  : 9.5

• Chest Size

  : 41 in or 104 cm

• Arms/Biceps Size

  : 14 in or 35.5 I'm

• Waist Size

  : 34 in or 86 I'm

Gary Neville childhood

Gary Alexander Neville was born on February 18th, 1975 in Bury, England. He was the first child of a passionate sports enthusiast family as his father Neville Neville was a former league cricketer while his mother, Jill, played netball, rounder, and hockey in the local leagues.

Therefore it is natural to see sport flows in Gary’s veins.

Gary Neville childhood

was spent immersed in two things he adored so much: hating

and defending Manchester United’s prestige.

One of the reasons why he is so loyal to Man United might be his father’s endless support for the team, as in 1979, when he was a four-year-old boy, he was going to Old Trafford to watch his favourite team play provided that he would not interrupt his father’s time with his mates.

His passion toward the club was so intense and overwhelming that he would have left no stone unturned in proving it. He spent his childhood while admiring his idols, most notably Bryan Robson. He was even present at Old Trafford when Robson signed for the club.

Besides he allocated a huge amount of time with Phil, his immediate younger brother, as the two shared the Red love. They used to play football and cricket together most often.

Every now and then they played on the Barracks, a grand town field. He also spent time with Jill, who took the kids out to see cricket games. Most interestingly as a kid he was good in Cricket too, who was an aggressive right-hand batsman with a solid whack.

When he was thirteen, he played for the Greenmount first team in the Bolton League. In a Hammer cup tie, he put away unbeaten 110 runs and had a 236 runs unbroken partnership with former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden for Greenmount Cricket club against Astley Bridge on July 19, 1992.

He was also selected for Lancashire U14s and the North of England schoolboys and played for the England junior team until the time when his finger was broken in the trials for the national team.

So far you might have thoroughly understood what an indelible impression has been made by his family and idols on preparing him for his career. Certainly without them, he would have ended up being Gary Alexander Neville but not the Old Trafford legend the world knows today.

Gary’s career with United officially began in 1991 but, off the record, it was in 1986 as it was started with Fergie Fledglings and continued to the youth side before graduating into the first team.

When he was 11, he underwent a trial for Manchester United and while among 200 kids just very few of them were chosen, he managed to make the cut.

Overjoyed by this accomplishment Gary went to the Cliff after school every Monday and Thursday with Neville while he was totally aware that it was only the beginning of his long run journey.

This was where for the first time he met Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and David Beckham before going on to form a great partnership with the trio as they were often brought to light as ‘the famous quartet’. And that was when Gary got his nickname ‘Busy’ too.

Then the next four years were perhaps the most influential period of his career. He proved himself as one of the most dedicated and hardworking players among his peers, and soon, he attracted the eyes of his coaches.

In 1989, when he was 14, he was offered a schoolboy deal with a two-year apprenticeship to follow. If he had any doubt in his mind over his path in life, if it was better to pursue football, cricket or perhaps another different path, it was eliminated then, and all he had in mind was conquering the world with United. 

Gary Neville professional career

Gary Neville joined Manchester United in his school times in 1991and took the responsibility of captaining the youth side to FA Youth Cup glory in his first season.

His senior debut for United was in September 1992 against

in the UEFA Cup. In the 1994–95 season, with Paul Parker injury he became United's first-choice right-back and remained so until his retirement.

Neville put away the first goal of his career in 1997 against Middlesbrough in a 3–3 draw, and he continued to net a sum of five league goals for United. He became a captain in 2005 and in a span of two decades, he made 602 appearances for the club.

On 2 February 2011, after playing at Manchester United for 20 years, finally his retirement from professional football was announced. He made his final professional appearance against

on New Year's Day 2011, a 2–1 victory at The Hawthorns.

In his span with United, he won a plethora of trophies, including the Premier League eight times, three FA Cups, two Champions Leagues, an Intercontinental Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup, and two League Cups as the 2006 League Cup was his first trophy as captain.

Gary Neville international career

For the first time, he appeared for England in 1995 as he was picked by Terry Venables for the friendly against Japan.

On 23 May 1996, he was accompanied in the England team by his brother Phil Neville in a game against China as they had also featured together in the 1996 FA Cup Final two weeks earlier and therefore made the record of the first pair of brothers to play together in an FA Cup-winning side and for England in the same season since Hubert and Francis Heron in 1877, 119 years earlier.

In regard to

top facts about Gary Neville

, that was not the only record he hit in his national side as he holds several other records in his 85 matches for England.

Consecutively, as he appeared 11 times for England in the European Championship finals (over three tournaments) along with his brother Philis, they hold the record of England's most capped brothers, with 142 appearances between them.

When he appeared as a stopgap against Italy at Leeds in 2002, he made his 51st cap, breaking the record for a right-back held previously by Phil Neal.

Gary Neville managerial career

Considering top facts about Gary Neville it is pertinent to note that for the first time he came into the managerial profession in 2012.

With holding the UEFA Pro Coaching licenses, he was assigned as one of the first team coaching staff by new coach Roy Hodgson, with Ray Lewington and goalkeeping coach Dave Watson.

His deal with the FA was until 2016, therefore he worked with the team in 2012 Euro, 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euro qualification campaign. His time in the position of assistant manager was not that much memorable, but that was down to the head coach, Roy, anyway.

Likewise, on December 2nd 2015, he was appointed as the head coach of La Liga Spanish team Valencia FC. Phil, Gary’s brother, had already served as caretaker manager of the club and went on with his brother appearance.

His signing in a head coach position was startling and unexpected as it seemed in the face of the fact that he was mainly inexperienced on the sidelines and his speaking Spanish was not that much good.

When

was 14th in the league table, just 6 points above relegation, won a meagre 3 out of 16 league matches and failed to secure a clean sheet in all games played, the management got the hint that the two weren’t a match made in heaven and gave him the sack. This occurred on 30 March 2016. 

Gary Neville media career

In the notion of our

top facts about Gary Neville

, you might find it interesting to know that he writes a weekly full-page column in the Sports part of The Sunday Times of Malta, which is the widest circulating newspaper in the country and the home to the oldest recognised Manchester United Supporters' Club.

He joined Sky Sports at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, taking the responsibility of match analyst on Monday Night Football from Andy Gray along with Jamie Redknapp.

He had already done some punditry work for ITV Sport during the 2002 World Cup, which he missed in the face of an injury, and for Euro 2008, which England did not succeed to qualify for.

Likewise, on 8 August 2014, it was announced that he joined The Daily Telegraph as their columnist staff. While he was taking his managerial job at Valencia in December 2015, he put aside his position as a regular Sky Sports pundit with around four years working for them.

After he was sacked from the club and just four months of staying with them, in 2016 he came back to that position of a pundit. Besides, he contributed as a pundit in ITV's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well.

There was many reviews and commendations on his approach to punditry, as he often perfectly blends insight, honesty and a sense of humour in delivering eloquent analysis. However, he has been typically reproached for being too harsh with his words at the times. 

Gary Neville endorsments

Before his testimonial in 2011, it was announced that he would spend the proceeds towards a supporters club and hotel near Old Trafford and although there were objections from Manchester United, his plans were approved in 2012.

Following that in 2013, Neville along with Ryan Giggs launched a hospitality company called GG Hospitality, with plans for building football-themed hotels and cafés around the United Kingdom, most preferably in Manchester and London.

Therefore a football-themed restaurant named Café Football in Stratford, London was operated which opened in November 2013, in addition to the Hotel Football that was scheduled to be opened in late 2014.

Then in 2015, Neville and Ryan Giggs gained planning permission for a second Manchester but they were not football themed. They also redeveloped 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.

Likewise, it might be considered as one of the

top facts about Gary Neville

that he was among the other United players that had won the 1992

, and proposed a university in Greater Manchester, with the name of University Academy 92 that offers "broader courses than traditional degrees" and absorbs students who "otherwise might not go on to higher education."

Gary Neville personal life

If we give further insight into top facts about Gary Neville, the notion of his relationship and family would be worth mentioning. First, he has dated Hannah Thornley (1996-2002) after he met her at a party at the Ritz nightclub through friends.

Although they dated and even reportedly got engaged for around six years, in 2002 Hannah dumped Gary for Lee Howard, who was her old school mate.

Since 2004 Gary began going out with Emma Hadfield following his national team failure in the 2004 UEFA Euro competition. Even though in July 2005, it was reported that Emma was cheating on Gary when he was away with the national team, then the reports, however, proved to be false and

Gary Neville wife

was redressed damages.

Eventually, Gary proposed to Emma while vacationing in Malta and they got married on June 16, 2007, at the Manchester Cathedral. In their wedding, Manchester United teammates including

, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were attended.

If we just take a closer look into top facts about Gary Neville, it is fascinating to know that Tracy, his younger sister, represented England at an international level as well but in playing netball.

She featured twice in the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, appearing 74 times before suffering injury problems. Phil, Tracy’s Twin, also featured in Manchester United before he was moved to

and he had also 51 caps with the national team. 

Gary Neville net worth and social media

When it comes to the top facts about Gary Neville, it is fascinating to suggest that as an English soccer coach, former professional soccer player, businessman and sports pundit he has a whopping net worth of $25 million.

Of course, the underlying majority of

Gary Neville net worth

came from his playing career with Manchester United as he signed several high-value deals with the Red Devils. Despite the fact that he was not the most glamourous player, he was stalwart at arguably one of the best clubs in England.

The notion of

Gary Neville social media

activity must not be excluded from our top facts about him particularly when he has racked around 1.2 million followers with his account of

on Instagram.

It is notable to suggest that the majority of his posts are related to his profession as a pundit, his passion for football and his personal and family life affairs.

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