Manchester United full-back Gary Neville has announced he is to retire from football with immediate effect. Neville represented the Red Devils 602 times but has struggled with injury and his appearances in a Manchester United shirt were limited to 31 appearances over the last four seasons.
Neville enjoyed an illustrious career, winging the Premier League 8 times and the Champions League twice, most famously against Bayern Munich in 1999. But a succession injury meant Neville could no longer continue at the top level, and the man most indicative of Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in charge of United has been forced to quit. In a statement he said: "I have been a Manchester United fan all my life and fulfilled every dream I've ever had.”
“Obviously I am disappointed that my playing days are at an end, however it comes to us all and it's knowing when that time is and for me that time is now.” The statement continued.
The football world heaped praise on Neville as news of his retirement broke, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson leading the way. The current Manchester United boss described the 35-year-old as “the best right-back of his generation”, while former team-mate David Beckham told his facebook fans that Neville “is one of the best defenders to have ever played the game”.
Neville was a product of the illustrious Manchester United youth system which helped the development of players such as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, his brother Phil Neville and Nicky Butt, and all went on to help Ferguson establish United as the dominant force in the Premier League. Neville gained 85 England caps during his playing career, and now he is rumoured to be joining Sky Sports as a pundit in place of Andy Gray, but Ferguson is keen to keep him at the club.
"Obviously there is a bit of speculation about who replaces Andy Gray and Richard Keys but it is not my agenda. Of course, we want him to stay here when he finishes playing but we'll see” the Scot said.
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