Gary Neville · Biography

In 1991, on leaving school, Gary Alexander Neville signed as an apprentice at Manchester United, the move that set the course of his career. Born on 18 February 1975 in Bury, Greater Manchester, he spent his whole playing career at Old Trafford as a right-back, making 602 appearances and scoring seven goals between 1992 and 2011. He won 85 caps for England, later worked as an assistant coach with the national team and, between December 2015 and March 2016, was head coach of Valencia in Spain.

Youth team and first-team debut

Neville came through the club’s youth system alongside a generation of academy players later known as the “Class of 92”, a group that included his younger brother Phil. In 1991-92 he captained the youth side that won the FA Youth Cup. A few months later, on 16 September 1992, he made his first-team debut in a goalless home draw with Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup. By the mid-1990s he had settled on the right of Alex Ferguson’s defence, a position he would hold for more than a decade.

Fifteen years of trophies at Old Trafford

His honours with Manchester United span almost his entire career. He won eight Premier League titles, in 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2008-09, and three FA Cups, in 1996, 1999 and 2004. The 1998-99 season brought the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League, with the Intercontinental Cup following in 1999. He collected a second European Cup in 2008, the FIFA Club World Cup the same year and three League Cups, in 2006, 2009 and 2010, plus the Community Shield in 1996, 1997 and 2008. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year several times between 1995-96 and 2006-07. In the Premier League alone he played 400 matches and scored five goals.

Captain and retirement

When Roy Keane left the club in November 2005, Neville was appointed captain. Injuries limited his appearances in his final years, and in September 2010 he stepped aside as team captain while remaining club captain off the pitch. His last match was on 1 January 2011, a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion. On 2 February 2011 he announced his retirement.

England

Terry Venables gave Neville his international debut on 3 June 1995, in a 2-1 win over Japan at Wembley in the Umbro Cup. Over the next twelve years he earned 85 caps without scoring and played at five major tournaments: Euro 96, where England reached the semi-finals, the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. A broken foot ruled him out of the 2002 World Cup. His final cap came on 7 February 2007, a 1-0 defeat to Spain at Wembley. On 14 May 2012 he returned to the set-up as an assistant to Roy Hodgson, a role he held until 2016.

Valencia, 2015-16

In 2011-12, his first season after retiring, Neville joined Sky Sports as a match analyst on Monday Night Football. He left the channel on 2 December 2015, when Valencia appointed him head coach. His first game, on 9 December, was a 2-0 home defeat to Lyon that knocked the club out of the Champions League and into the Europa League. On 3 February 2016 Valencia lost 7-0 to Barcelona at Camp Nou in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final; the return at Mestalla finished 1-1. His first La Liga win came at the tenth attempt, 2-1 against Espanyol on 13 February 2016. After a home defeat to Celta Vigo on 20 March, the club dismissed him on 30 March 2016. In 28 games he recorded 10 wins, 7 draws and 11 defeats, with only three wins from 16 league matches. His assistant, Pako Ayestarán, took charge until the end of the season.

Business and broadcasting

Alongside football, Neville built a business profile in Manchester. In July 2013 he and Ryan Giggs announced a hospitality venture, which began with Café Football in August that year. On 27 March 2014 he and other members of the Class of 92 agreed a deal to buy Salford City, and in September 2014 the Singaporean businessman Peter Lim bought a 50% stake in the club. Neville returned to Sky Sports in September 2016 and in 2018 worked as a World Cup pundit for ITV. In 2025 he was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.