Gary Neville Quick Info | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 10 in |
Weight | 82 kg |
Date of Birth | February 18, 1975 |
Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Gary Neville is a British football pundit and former player who is best known for being a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City and for his career with Manchester United. He retired from football in 2011 and later started serving as a commentator for Sky Sports. In 2015, he took over the head coach position at Valencia. During the course of his career, Gary has won several tournaments such as Premier League, FA Cup, FA Community Shield, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Champions League, and has been the recipient of honors like the “FWA Tribute Award”.
Born Name
Gary Alexander Neville
Nick Name
Red Nev, Busy Busy, Gaz, Captain Courageous
Sun Sign
Aquarius
Born Place
Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Nationality
Education
Gary Neville went to Greater Manchester-based mixed secondary school, Elton High School, which is in the Bury town center. Initially, he honed his soccer skills at the Bury school ground with his physical education teacher.
He joined Manchester United’s famed youth academy at the age of 11 and eventually left school in 1991 to sign apprentice contract with Manchester’s youth squad as he wanted his focus to solely rest on making it to the senior squad.
Occupation
Professional Soccer Player (now Retired), Assistant Coach, Television Pundit, Businessman, Hotelier
Family
- Father – Neville Neville (Former Professional Cricket Player)
- Mother – Jill Neville (Former Netball Player and General Manager and Club Secretary for Football League club Bury)
- Siblings – Phil Neville (Younger Brother) (Former Soccer Player) (Soccer Coach, Television Pundit), Tracey Neville (Sister) (Retired English Netball Player)
Manager
During his playing career, he was represented by his dad Neville Neville.
Position
Right-Back (Defender)
Shirt Number
While playing for Manchester United, Gary Neville used to wear number 2 shirt. He wore same squad number for the England national club.
Build
Athletic
Height
5 ft 10 in or 178 cm
Weight
82 kg or 181 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Gary Neville has dated –
- Hannah Thornley (1996-2002) – Gary Neville started dating Hannah Thornley in 1996 after meeting in a party at the Ritz nightclub through friends. They dated for around six years and according to some reports, they had even got engaged. However, Hannah dumped Gary in 2002 for Lee Howard, who was her old school mate.
- Emma Hadfield (2004-Present) – Gary started going out with Emma Hadfield after his national team was dumped out of the 2004 UEFA Euro competition. In July 2005, the Sun newspaper printed a report that Emma was cheating on Gary while he was away on with the national team. The reports, however, proved to be false and Emma was awarded damages. Gary proposed to Emma while vacationing in Malta and they got married on June 16, 2007, at the Manchester Cathedral. Gary’s younger brother Phil was the best man at the wedding and was attended by Gary’s Manchester United teammates including Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs. They have 2 daughters together named Molly (b. January 11, 2009) and Sophie (b. March 25, 2010).
Race / Ethnicity
White
Hair Color
Light Brown
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- High hairline
- Crows’ feet eyes
Brand Endorsements
Being one of the best right backs in the history of Manchester United has helped Gary Neville pocket cool endorsement deals. First up is his brand endorsement deal with his former club Manchester United. In April 2011, he was signed up in the ambassadorial role by the club. As a part of the deal, he had to attend local promotional events and work on campaigns designed by United’s commercial partners.
He also had an endorsement deal with telecom giant Vodafone. He appeared in a TV advert along with his brother Phil for the brand.
In 2016, he made an appearance in a cool advert for the Sky Sports as well.
Plus, he has worked for the EA sports FIFA 16 promotional campaign too. He appeared in a TV advert with Jamie Carragher for the FIFA 16 ultimate team feature. In another advert, he joined his former Manchester United teammate Ryan Giggs.
Religion
Christianity
Best Known For
- Playing for Manchester United
- Being one of the finest TV analysts
- Being former assistant manager of England national team
First Soccer Match
Gary Neville made his senior debut for Manchester United against Torpedo Moskva in a UEFA Cup first round first leg match at Old Trafford on September 16, 1992. Neville came in as a second half substitute for Lee A Martin.
On June 3, 1995, Gary made his first start for England national team against Japan in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium. England went onto win the match by 2-1.
Strengths
- Tackling
- Focus
- Positioning
- Strength
- Crossing
- Marking
Weaknesses
- Speed
- Acceleration
First Film
Gary Neville’s first appearance in film came in sports romantic film Goal! III as himself in 2009.
First TV Show
Apart from football match appearances and documentaries, Gary appeared in sports news show Match of the Day as himself in 4th episode of season 39.
Personal Trainer
The information about Gary Neville’s gym workout isn’t available. However, he did disclose his eating habits and diet plan in an interview during his playing days. The day before match, he used to have cereal and juice for his breakfast. The lunch comprised of potato, fish and vegetables. The evening snack included cereal and toast. Pasta with soup was for dinner.
On match days, the breakfast was same. In lunch, he used to have spaghetti with sauce, yogurt and Ribena in the club canteen at noon. Sometimes, the lunch also included mashed potatoes. While traveling, he used to carry Weetabix and jaffa cake as healthy snacks.
Gary Neville Favorite Things
- Food – Steak pudding, chips, peas, gravy
- Pundit – Jamie Carragher
- Manchester United Player – Michael Carrick
Source – The Guardian, Mirror, Twitter
Gary Neville Facts
- Gary Neville is very environmentally conscious and drives a hybrid car to the work. He even arranged a friendly match between Manchester United and Forest Green Rovers, which is considered as one of the greenest clubs in England.
- Gary and his brother Phil have made 142 appearances in between them for the England national team, which makes them most capped brothers for England.
- Gary Neville has turned out for England national team in 85 matches, which makes him the most capped right back for England.
- Along with Ryan Giggs, he is the co-owner of Café Football restaurant, which is a football themed eatery in London and boasts 140 seat capacity.
- As a school boy, he was a very talented cricketer and played alongside former England captain Michael Vaughan and brother Phil Neville for Lancashire’s Under-14 team.
- In a Hammer cup tie, he scored 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.
- The University of Bolton awarded Neville an honorary degree for his contributions to football in July 2009.
- In January 2006, he created a controversy by goading Liverpool fans after Manchester United scored a winning goal in 90th minute. He was fined $5000 for his conduct.
- In his first managerial stint as the manager of the La Liga side Valencia, he lasted only four months as he was sacked by the club in March 2016 with club rooted at 14th spot in points table.
- In 2014, he bought the non-league club Salford City FC along with his former Manchester United teammates – Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.
- He own a property consultancy agency Zerum, which acted as agent, when he applied for planning permission for converting Manchester’s former stock exchange into boutique hotel.
- He played for Manchester United for 19Â seasons before hanging boots in 2011. He made 602 appearances for the English giants.
- Neville has won eight premier league titles with Manchester United to go with two UEFA Champions League triumphs and three FA cups.
- For his stellar performances for Manchester United over the years, he has been included in the Premier League team of the year on five occasions – 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, and 2007.
- In April 2003, he was included in the overall team of the decade, selected as a part of Premier League 10 Seasons Awards announced to celebrate first decade of the league.
- In 2015, he was inducted in the English Football Hall of Fame, which is housed in Manchester at the National Football Museum.
- In his 85 appearances for England national team, he failed to score a single goal for his team but managed to score two own goals against his side.
- Due to his failure to win any tournament of note in his international career, he called his England career a waste of time in his book.
- Being a Manchester United man, he has professed his intense hatred for Liverpool on number of occasions along with his dislike for Manchester City as well.