There’s something about footballing Garys. Gary Lineker was controversially suspended by the BBC this spring after his tweet criticising the government’s small boats policy sparked a furore. With his slapped wrists still smarting, Lineker has since kept a lower profile. His Sky counterpart Gary Neville has duly come off the bench to become social media’s most outspoken former player.
Now 48, Neville is one of the most decorated homegrown footballers of all time, having won 20 trophies for Manchester United, where he served as club captain for five seasons. He was England’s first-choice right-back for more than a decade, earning 85 international caps. After hanging up his boots in 2011, he became a Sky Sports pundit, either side of stints as head coach of Valencia and the England team’s assistant manager.
In 2021, he launched a YouTube channel called The Overlap where he interviews sport’s biggest stars. He now executive-produces and fronts new Sky TV series The Overlap on Tour, which finds him travelling around the UK and Ireland with fellow ex-pros Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane. He is married with two daughters and lives in Manchester city centre. When we speak, the man nicknamed G-Nev is in his central Manchester office, sitting in front of a wall emblazoned with: “No excuses, no shortcuts, no regrets.” Well, it beats: “Live, laugh, love.”
How did your new series come about?
I set up The Overlap two years ago to be an interview platform on YouTube but always had in the back of my mind that we could do live shows in front of arena audiences. Now it’s on TV too, it’s evolved even more. We’ve added a bit of nostalgia, where we return to our roots. There are sporting challenges. Then we play to big crowds, bring in guests and have a laugh. The show’s strength is the chemistry between us. It’s like being in a football dressing room again.
Who was the most annoying travel companion?
Me, I’m sure. I never stop talking, do I? Like I commentate on Sky, I also commentate in life.
Roy Keane has a fearsome image but is he a pussycat really?
That image comes from his playing career – and maybe parts of his managerial career – but it was always just 2% of him. The other 98% was storytelling, humour, listening, talking, challenging. That’s what Roy’s like off the pitch. Competitive, yes, but you can talk to him for ever. He’s charming and great company. What you’re seeing now is his real personality coming through.
On the show, you say being David Beckham’s best man was one of the scariest days of your life. Why?
Imagine, I was only 24 and best man for one of the most famous footballers who’s ever lived. Victoria and the Spice Girls were a phenomenon, too. I had to speak for 15 minutes in a room full of famous performers and try to be funny. I’m no standup comic so it was hard work but I think it went OK. I prepared well!
Beckham is now co-owner of Inter Miami CF. Might he lure you over there someday?
I don’t think so. I’m too embedded in Greater Manchester. I love it here. It’s where my businesses are and where my life’s been. I want to give back to this place and be part of this brilliant community.
Noel Gallagher has been taunting you about Manchester City winning the treble. Has there been a power shift in Manchester?
United are a superior football club and always will be. City are more successful at this moment in time but it’s just that: a moment in time. Noel knows that. He’s the intelligent one out of the two. He’ll recognise that it’s cyclical and United will rise. It’s a round world.
There’s a decision due on the Manchester United takeover. What’s your preferred outcome?
What you want from leaders is good, clear communication. The Glazer family do the exact opposite. They’re in a position of authority, looking after a community – and United’s fans around the world are a global community – but the Glazers haven’t communicated with them for nearly 20 years. The sale process is extending to an unpalatable length, everyone’s in the dark and it’s symptomatic. They have to exit but I haven’t got faith that they’ll do the right thing.
Do you think criticism of footballers is often down to snobbery?
It annoyed me during Covid when Matt Hancock chose to attack footballers [the then health secretary said Premier League players should “play their part” and take a pay cut]. I don’t know any footballer who was posh or born into money. They’re all working class, from estates up and down the country. You don’t kick a ball aged five because you want a Ferrari, you do it for love for the game. The vast majority of footballers don’t earn anywhere near enough to be set up for life. Once their playing career is over, they’ll work in a normal job for the next 30 years. Footballers were a strange group to single out.
You’re a Labour party member and have become increasingly vocal politically. Why?
Two factors. First, lockdown. Everyone watched those five o’clock briefings and hung on every word but all the way through, they were lying to us. People were losing their lives or unable to go to loved ones’ funerals. Meanwhile, those ministers were scheming and giving contracts to their mates. A few months in, I realised: “They’re proper wrong ’uns, this lot.” The second thing was Boris Johnson. While he was prime minister, I felt we were in real danger. All my life, I’ve been in teams where you look after one another. This lot don’t think that way. They’re in it for themselves and on the take. It’s damaging our country, our integrity, our international standing. We’re a laughing stock. Johnson has got to be expelled from British politics for good. So do all his cronies who enabled him. With great leadership, we can be a great nation again but that’ll never happen under this government.
Do people try to silence you?
“Stick to football” is the most common response to anything I say about politics. We live in a democratic society with freedom of speech. I don’t block people on Twitter, I allow them to respond to me openly. In the past six to 12 months, though, I’ve noticed bot attacks on me. Messages come through and I think: “Where are they coming from?” If you take on the Tory party, they’re well funded and will undermine you. It’s just the way it works.
What did you make of the furore over Gary Lineker’s tweet about asylum seekers?
He sees what’s going on, realises it’s wrong and speaks out about it. When you do that, people try to finish you off. There’s no doubt. I’ve had freedom of information requests put in on me that I’ve never had before in my life. They’re entirely legal, there to protect democracy and integrity, so I won’t complain. They’re coming from certain sections of the media purely because they want to silence me. Other unusual things have also been happening in my life recently, which I can’t talk about but haven’t experienced before. I understand what’s going on. The Westminster elite have a protective ring around them that needs them to stay in power. But it’s wrong and it’ll change soon, I hope.
Would you like to see Andy Burnham as Labour leader?
I’m happy with Keir Starmer. They used to say: “Keir’s boring and Boris is a character.” But we need someone sensible leading our country. Someone who’s serious about their work, who feels the responsibility of serving the people, not themselves. Keir ran a major department in the criminal justice system. He’s also served in the shadow cabinet for many years. He’s ready for that next step up and needs to be given a chance. Starmer and his shadow cabinet can bring back trust in our politics because right now, it’s farcical.
Would you ever run for office?
No, because I’d have to watch what I say. Politics isn’t for me.
You guest-hosted Have I Got News for You six months ago. Ian Hislop didn’t go easy on you about the Qatar World Cup…
Nobody did. I became the lightning rod for six months. You’d think I was the only broadcaster there! I’ve worked for Middle Eastern TV for 20 years and I’m not going to stop. It’s a huge part of this world – we can’t cancel it. To my mind, we should hold sporting tournaments in every part of the planet. Sometimes things happen in those countries that we don’t agree with. The Middle Eastern population don’t agree with a lot of the things that happen here either. We have to be tolerant. To divide, antagonise and alienate is what Brexit has done.
Didn’t you build the first carbon-neutral ecohome in the north-west?
I got planning permission for a zero-carbon house in Bolton but didn’t build it in the end. I reinsulated the house that I’m living in, put in triple glazing and made it as energy-efficient as possible. I’ve changed tack a little bit, moving away from new builds. The most sustainable way to live is to refurbish existing buildings.
Have you always been engaged with environmental issues?
I fly a lot and my household owns two cars, so I wouldn’t call myself an environmentalist. Instead, I try to make the best choices possible. I very rarely drive down to London – I get the train. I use public transport to get from Manchester to Bolton. Sometimes I have to drive but I try to do minimal miles.
You went viral for saying you didn’t like roast potatoes. Does it surprise you, the things you get grief for?
I get grief about everything! I just like chips. I was brought up 50 yards from a chippie. I was raised on bags of chips and pick’n’mix sweets. I suppose you’d call it a northern diet [laughs].
As co-owner of Salford City, what have you made of Wrexham’s fairytale story?
The dream of the pyramid in English football is that you can rise from the lower tiers and play in the Premier League. Once we lose that, we lose everything. What clubs like Luton, Wrexham and Stockport have done is what makes football special. We’re not franchise football. The Super League was an attack on those principles and it’ll never happen again.
Where do you stand on VAR (video assistant referee)?
I’ve always been in favour of introducing technology for more accurate decisions. There’s nothing worse than losing a big match because of a refereeing mistake. They happen naturally because we’re human but if they can be spotted on TV, I’m all for it. Fans are starting to accept it. When referees are able to be more transparent around decisions and maybe get miked up, we’ll really start to see the benefits.
Are you a workaholic?
I’ve always worked hard but people in this country do. It’s key to our national identity. We get up every morning, do a good job and take satisfaction from it. I’m glad that in 2023 we’ve taken the pressure off one another a little bit and there’s less expectation to be quite so relentless. But I spent two decades in a dressing room with a manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] who used to say: “Never let one another down, work as hard as you possibly can and never give in.” I learned those values from my family too. The culture in Greater Manchester is that we get things done.
What do you do to relax?
I do find it hard to switch off but it’s simple things. Go and watch the kids play netball. Go out for a meal and a glass of wine. I get away for a break every six weeks or so.
“Mini retirements”, as you notoriously called them…
There you go. I knew you wanted to say it! It came from a book called The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss but that went viral as well.
We all have career paths untaken. What’s yours?
A sports journalist but I’d have to go back to school and do English again. Look at my grammar on Twitter. One thing I’ll never be accused of is having someone ghostwrite my tweets – there’s that many spelling mistakes!
• The Overlap on Tour airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Sky Max and Sky Showcase
