Nice one, United, you’ve broken Gary.
Gary Neville is never shy of an opinion or four. He weighs in on a host of topics, across football, politics and societal issues, but one Manchester United transfer move almost rendered him speechless.
The former Manchester United and England star was in London for Sky Sports, on Sunday, as he covered the Premier League clash between West Ham and Manchester City.
Following the game, he gave his take on Manchester United’s 2-1 loss to Brighton, and reports from multiple sources that the 20-time league champions had made a bid for Bologna forward Marko Arnautovic.
“The first thing you do when the phone rings from Manchester United is reject the bid,” said Neville.
Marko Arnautovic of Bologna FC. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)“The reality of it is after losing that game against Brighton on Sunday, they’re actually negotiating from an even worse position than they were on Saturday, and that’s an even bigger problem for them.”
Gary Neville on Marko Arnautovic move
Musing United making a bid for a 33-year-old striker that spent the 2020/21 season in the Chinese Super League, Gary Neville initially struggled to articulate his thoughts.
He clearly did not want to be too harsh on Arnautovic, and waded in on what he saw was a failed policy of short-term striker signings. Neville said:
“I’ve got a comment on everything in the world, apart from Manchester United signing Marko Arnautovic. I’ve got nothing to say.
“We’ve seen Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Odion Ighalo – desperate, it’s a pattern. It’s happening time and time again. I don’t even get angry or animated about it anymore. I’m not going to comment about it.”
Neville may relax somewhat after it was further reported that United were pulling out of any Arnautovic deal as Bologna were asking for too much, and the club had a change of heart after blow-back from supporters.
It has also been reported, by The Athletic, that United have made a £15 million bid for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot. The club are said to have agreed a fee with Juve for the 27-year-old French international, but need to agree on personal terms.
