Gary Neville has shared some funny stories about his time at Manchester United, including how he always wore white underwear on match days because of a superstition.. Neville was with United’s first team for 19 years and was the captain for six of them. In total, he played more than 600 times for the Reds.. The current Sky Sports pundit was pivotal for United when they were in their glory era under Sir Alex Ferguson. Neville won eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups and two Champions Leagues during his illustrious career.. READ MORE: Carragher aims dig at Neville. READ MORE: Dalot responds to Neville’s controversial statement. Some people might think United were just a great team with a great manager, but Neville thinks his special routines before matches helped too. “I used to wear the same coloured underpants for every game during my career. White. Just because it was something I did. Same Tubigrip, same tape, the physios knew it,” Neville said on the Football, Music and Me podcast with Geoff Shreeves.. He added: “I used to put the same underpants on, go to the same toilet to read the programme, even though I didn’t always need the toilet. Same seat on the coach next to Becks (David Beckham). I never shifted, there were things I did that were part of my routine.”. Even though Neville followed these superstitions all through his career, not everyone thought they made sense. Jim Ryan, who was in charge of the reserve team, used to make fun of Neville for it.. “Jim Ryan once said to me: ‘It’s really interesting that the whole success of Manchester United depends on the colour of your underpants’. He would take the p*** out of me, but he actually had a point.. “Then he said to me: ‘But on an individual level, all those hours that you’ve worked all your life, thousands, hundreds of thousands of hours, all that practice that you’ve put in, and you’re putting even a little bit of importance on the colour of your underpants’.”. Neville retired from his career as a player in January 2011, with Ferguson paying an emotional tribute to his most trusted lieutenant. The Scot praised Neville’s work ethic, with the right-back having gone all the way from the academy to legend status.. “Gary is an example to any young professional, hard-working, loyal and intelligent. His impact on the club in general has been huge,” Ferguson said when Neville announced his retirement.. “His presence in the dressing room and leadership qualities have been an asset to me as a manager. As a young boy he had the will and determination to succeed as a footballer and that character remained with him throughout his career.”. Try MUFC Pro NOW for free. Subscribe to our brilliant app for the best way to enjoy the M.E.N’s unrivalled Manchester United coverage.. No adverts, pop-ups or distractions – just our brilliant content presented in the best way possible.. Comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the Reds, with agenda-setting breaking news and insight from Samuel Luckhurst and our authoritative team of United writers. Exclusive content for subscribers. New interactive elements including (coming soon) quizzes to test your United knowledge.. Try MUFC Pro for a front-row seat to the action at absolutely no cost for the first month. You can get started by downloading our app here on iPhone, or here on Android. If you already have our app, click on the ”MUFC Pro’,’ Subscribe’ or ‘ Remove ads’ links.. *Free trial auto renews at £19.99 annually unless cancelled. T&C’s apply. Ad-free indicates that you will not be shown standard display ad formats with the articles that you read, selected articles may contain commercial messages/affiliate links where contractually required.
