Sir Alex Ferguson gave F-bomb response to Gary Neville not wanting Man Utd role

Gary Neville was named as Roy Keane's successor as captain of Manchester United in 2005 but the Red Devils icon soon felt uncomfortable with the weight of the armband

Gary Neville once earned himself an F-bomb response from Sir Alex Ferguson after telling the then Manchester United manager that he longer wanted to be captain.

The pundit has remained connected to his boyhood club since his retirement in 2011. He currently sits on the club's stadium taskforce as Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks into proposals for a 'Wembley of the North' to replace Old Trafford.

While the Ineos billionaire is dedicated to returning United among the world's best, he was recently subjected to criticism for axing Ferguson's full-time ambassadorial contract worth millions of pounds a year as part of his cost-cutting measures.

Just days after the Scotsman's contract was terminated, Neville was undertaking freelance ambassador duties for the club as he travelled to India for the Apollo Tyres flagship grassroots football programme, appearing as part of the 'United We Play' programme.

Neville has long shared a close relationship with Ferguson, who appointed the former England defender as club captain following Roy Keane's acrimonious departure from Old Trafford in 2005.

Having spent three years as skipper, the absurd collection of talent that United fielded caused Neville to have second thoughts on whether he truly deserved the captaincy. His doubt saw him approach Ferguson to tell him he was thinking of resigning from the responsibility, which resulted in a blunt response from his former manager, who he said told him to "keep the effing armband".

Speaking to Sky Sports in 2020, the 49-year-old revealed: "I got injured about a year after taking the captaincy and that became really difficult for me because I felt as though I wasn't contributing like a captain would do for the last four years of my career.

"I actually remember going to see Sir Alex one pre-season, I think it was about the third year I was captain, and it was obvious then, we had an amazing team.

"[Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Wayne] Rooney, [Carlos] Tevez, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes, [Michael] Carrick,[Rio] Ferdinand, [Nemanja] Vidic, [Patrice] Evra, [Edwin] Van der Sar – there were some great personalities and great players in that group.

"I went over to Sir Alex one day, walking over to the training pitch, and said: 'Boss, I don't feel worthy of keeping the captaincy anymore, this team's shifted onto a level that I can't compete at'. And he said: 'You'll keep that effing armband, son'. Am I allowed to say that on Sky Sports? I think in lockdown you're allowed to say it.

“And the reason he gave me, he said: 'You and Giggs will rotate it. If I give it to Ronaldo, Rooney will kick off. If I give it to Rooney, Ronaldo will kick off, if I give it to Vidic, Ferdinand won't be happy'. So literally I think me and Giggsy kept the armband for about three or four years, and Giggsy beyond that, just purely because of the camaraderie in the dressing room, keeping things together.

"We were the policemen in the dressing room if you like, we were the older statesmen and we were setting the example. Sir Alex wanted to make sure that the team came first, even though I felt unworthy of the captaincy at that stage to be honest with you."

United – now captained by Bruno Fernandes – have struggled so far this season as they sit 11th in the Premier League table. Despite constant chatter surrounding Erik ten Hag's position at the club, the Dutchman bought himself more time thanks to his side's 2-1 win over Brentford on Saturday (October 19).

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