Gary Neville names the one Man Utd transfer that stunned him the most as 'special' bond broken

Gary Neville has named the one Manchester United transfer that left him stunned while he was playing for the club.

Neville was a one-club man throughout his playing career, initially graduating through United's youth academy as part of the 'Class of '92' before eventually retiring at the club in the summer of 2011.

As a result, therefore, he saw his fair share of incoming and outgoing transfers during his time at Old Trafford - including some high-profile ones.

Neville was one of the team leaders at the time of Roy Keane's acrimonious departure from United in 2005, while he also saw David Beckham quit the club to join Real Madrid after his own fallout with Sir Alex Ferguson.

And he was two months into his professional career when Eric Cantona walked the largely untrodden path from Leeds to Manchester in 1992 - a transfer that effectively kickstarted United's dominance of English football for the next two decades.

But, speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap's 'Fan Debate', Neville declared that there was one transfer, above all the rest, that left him the most shocked.

He explained: "The one transfer that got me the most was Carlos Tevez [moving to Manchester City].

"For us, he was a Manchester United player, and I thought that front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez and Wayne Rooney was special.

"I thought that, if you played for United, you didn't go directly to Manchester City.

"He was a great lad at United, and he was an unbelievable fighter. Towards the end, I think he became a bit disillusioned because he was being left out of the squad.

"For me, it wasn't that big of a problem with Peter Schmeichel [joining Manchester City]. I think Peter genuinely thought he was going to retire abroad, and then when he went to Lisbon, he missed the Premier League. I don't think he always planned to come back; it was just something that happened."

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Tevez's departure was always a bitter pill to swallow for United fans, especially after he celebrated in front of Ferguson after scoring for City in a game against United in 2010.

Two years later, the Argentinian lifted the Premier League for the first time with City at United's expense - even if he did walk out of the club for five months that season after a disagreement with Roberto Mancini.

Gary Neville was speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet.

Topics: Gary Neville, Manchester United, Premier League, Transfers

Ryan Smart

Live in constant hope of the top flight as a Preston North End fan. Written in the past for SPORF, GiveMeSport and more.