Gary Neville was not pleased after Manchester United’s Qatar takeover collapsed, but former Liverpool man Jamie Carragher saw the funny side
Gary Neville (R) and Jamie Carragher (Image: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Gary Neville hit back at Jamie Carragher with a sly dig about Liverpool owners FSG after his fellow Sky Sports pundit made light of Manchester United’s failed takeover.
Over the weekend it became apparent the Reds’ fierce rivals would not come into contract with the Qatari riches of Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, as the businessman withdrew from the bidding process to take control of the Old Trafford outfit.
That was despite offering £5bn for the club back in May, with Rio Ferdinand making a poorly-aged statement that the deal was to be wrapped up quickly.
Now it appears the Glazer family will only part of United with a minority 25 percent stake going to English businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
These events prompted a response from former player and now Sky Sports pundit Neville, clearly unhappy that his old club would not be taken over entirely given his recent track record speaking against the current ownership.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, he published a long rant outlining six “non-negotiables” about a takeover, plus a further list of 16 questions to tackle worries about a new minority shareholder coming on board.
In due course Carragher, a regular on TV alongside his ex-United rival, rubbed salt in the wounds. He joked: “That para is my personal favourite, there’s a few other crackers as well,” screenshotting a section of the original post about Neville’s ‘non negotiables’.
Clearly a sensitive topic for Neville, he sharply clapped back at his co-pundit. “You can use it when you’re trying to kick your owners out in a few years,” was the last word in the public war of words.
Ownership is a subject both have clashed on at various stages dating back to when FSG announced they were exploring their options for investment 11 months ago. Around the same time Man United began their process to achieve a similar outcome.
John W. Henry then made it clear Liverpool were not for sale, culminating in a minority investment from Dynasty Equity at end of September. Whether this is the correct decision will be up for debate down the line, depending on the club’s on-field performance.
By this point Neville has taken Carragher on many a time, whether that be after Liverpool’s loss to Brentford in January live on air with Sky or again on X, there for all the world to see.
