Gary Neville has admitted he was relieved when David Beckham left Manchester United for Real Madrid.
Neville and Beckham were part of United’s ‘Class of 92’ youth team and went on to establish themselves as first team regulars at Old Trafford. With Neville at full back and Beckham on the wing, the pair, who were close friends off the field, operated on United’s right side for the best part of a decade – a period which proved to be one of the most successful in the club’s history.
After reportedly falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson, Beckham left for Madrid in the summer of 2003. He later played for Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Neville remained at United for the rest of his career.
“I knew it was coming to an end a little bit from the previous 12 months,” Neville said in an interview with Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager on Twitter). “I was aware of the things that were going on behind the scenes.”
“I was disappointed when he left but I was also disappointed when Nicky Butt left. I was disappointed when my brother left, I was disappointed when Roy Keane left and I was disappointed when Denis Irwin left. They were a massive part of our lives and our careers at United.
“It wasn’t just the lads around me – David, Phil and Nicky and such like. When a player of that magnitude left there was a void. They’re a big miss.”
He continued: “To be honest with you, at the time ‘sad’ probably wasn’t the right word [to describe how I felt about Beckham’s deprature].
“I was probably relieved a little bit. For him, for the club – it could never end badly, that relationship. David had done so much for the club and the club had done so much for David.
“He always harboured this hope of playing abroad, I think, and playing in European football.
“Looking at what he’s done in his career now: playing at Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Manchester United, LA Galaxy… it’s a great career. You can’t look at it and think that he was wrong. He’s richer for those experiences.
“His time had probably come at United where he was right to leave. There was a bit of me that was relieved that that tension, that little bit of an underlying thing that was there had gone.
“He was a brilliant player and I loved playing with him.”
Neville was speaking to Jonathan Shrager as part of an exclusive interview posted on StrettyNewsTV. The full video, which is well worth a watch, can be viewed below.
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