Over the previous ten years, Manchester United has pursued a number of players in the transfer market, and Gary Neville has spoken poetic about the team to them, even if he has acknowledged that may have been a mistake.
Gary Neville acknowledges that he has given players “pretty poor advice” when he recommended they join Manchester United.
The Sky Sports analyst played during a trophy-rich period under one manager at Old Trafford, where he finished his playing career. He left United two years before Sir Alex Ferguson did in 2013, and the team has subsequently seen significant declines. Exorbitant amounts of money have been invested in an attempt to replicate the previous success.
After joining Manchester United, several players have fallen short of expectations. Neville acknowledges that Old Trafford has turned into a “graveyard” for players and that he has mistakenly encouraged others to join the team.
“I have spoken to players before they come here saying, ‘You’ll never regret it, it’s a magic football club,'” Neville stated on Sky Sports. In retrospect, that was not very wise advise.
Over the past ten years, United has added players like Alexis Sanchez, Harry Maguire, and Paul Pogba. Despite being successful at their former teams and fetching high transfer fees and salaries, none of them could maintain the level of play they had previously displayed.
Jude Bellingham, who left Birmingham City for Borussia Dortmund, was one man to decline a move to Manchester United. At Real Madrid, he flourished and is currently among Europe’s best players; nevertheless, Neville acknowledges that the long-term problems at United may have hindered even the midfield sensation.
He said, “There are other players who have picked other clubs and have had great success. “Jude Bellingham comes to mind. He enters this boardroom, and both Manchester United and Dortmund have agreed on a fee. He must choose between the two, and he did a great job choosing Dortmund to become one of the best players in the world and one of the best English talents.
“If he had arrived here, what would have happened? I’m not sure, maybe he might succeed, but the culture makes me doubtful.”
During his brief stay in Valencia, where he collaborated with a youthful Joao Cancelo who went on to become a huge success at Manchester City, Neville has acknowledged calling up people at United.
“I had him as a very young player at Valencia but you could just see exceptional talent,” he had previously stated. “I made calls back to England, you could imagine to which club I’m talking about, [saying], ‘If you’d ever take a young player, he’s one you’d take’.”
