Gary Neville reveals Sir Alex Ferguson's 'biggest transfer mistake' during Man Utd career

Gary Neville has named the one transfer mistake that Sir Alex Ferguson made during his time at Manchester United.

Ferguson is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time having won a total of 38 trophies at United, including 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two Champions League titles.

Across his 26 seasons in charge, the Scottish manager brought some of the very best players in United's history to Old Trafford, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney.

However, there is one transfer that former defender Neville has labelled as the biggest mistake during the Scot's United career.

Neville was a key part of the most successful period in United's history and is fiercely loyal to his former boss, who managed him for almost 20 years.

However, the former England international has admitted that there was one big mistake that Ferguson made during his time at United.

"Jaap [Stam] was the biggest one where I felt at the time, it was questionable," he said on The Overlap.

"And the boss has said it was his biggest mistake, hasn't he, in his book?

"That was the one where I look at that transfer and think, 'He's the best centre-back in the world. No-one's beating him. No-one's beating Jaap Stam!' He was just a powerhouse.

"Me and Denis [Law] could go forward, or me and Phil [Neville], whoever it was, and you'd leave Jaap at the back with anyone.

Jaap Stam is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in Premier League history. (Image: Getty)

"He was a bit like [Virgil] van Dijk at his peak two or three years ago, where he'd just take the ball off ya! You can't get past him. A player looks to run at Jaap Stam, and they're just refusing it. They're passing it! That was the one I felt wasn't quite right."

Although Neville admitted that watching players like of David Beckham and Paul Ince leave United was difficult, it was the departure of 1999 Treble-winner Stam that stood out as the worst.

After a break down in his relationship with Ferguson, Stam was sold to Serie A side Lazio in 2001 for a reported fee of £16million.

In total the Dutch defender made 127 appearances for United, winning six trophies.

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