Gary Neville has shed light on his breakneck flight from Anfield in the wake of Liverpool winning the Premier League title on Sunday.
Arne Slot’s side needed a solitary point from their encounter with Tottenham at home but the visitors were instead put through the ringer by the champions-in-waiting, losing 5-1 in front of jubilant home crowd.
Reds players and supporters alike burst into celebration with the final whistle, but former Manchester United star Neville – on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports – was in no mood to soak up the atmosphere.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted for the ex-defender making a swift exit in the immediate aftermath of the match.
Neville was all smiles as he shared a quick embrace with Liverpool legend John Aldridge but was quick to beat a path to the car park when pleasantries were wrapped up.
Now, the pundit has revealed that as he made his way from the gantry to his car, the mood was a challenging one for a prominent Red Devil.
Liverpool claimed their 20th title in some style with a thumping 5-1 win against Tottenham
Gary Neville was on hand at Anfield as a pundit and co-commentator for Sky Sports
The Manchester United legend was however unwilling to stay too long after the final whistle
‘At the end of the game, I normally do a podcast,’ Neville explained his It’s Called Soccer podcast. ‘But I made the decision partway through the game, it was getting a bit fruity up where I was in the gantry.
‘The security guard with me was here (next to me) and I got my backpack literally as the final whistle went and Peter (Drury) usually throws to me, but they agreed that I wouldn’t have to speak.
‘So I put my backpack on, we went, we ran for it and went right out into the concourse and beat everybody.
‘However, what I didn’t then imagine was the carnage and people outside and I got absolutely abused. I snapped at a couple of people as well to be fair.
‘A lot of them were in good spirits, as you can imagine, and seeing me, they just abused me,’ Neville added.
As a player, Neville won the league title eight times under Sir Alex Ferguson but may have felt as if he was on the pitch again as he found himself on the end of some ‘old school abuse’ at the hands of delighted Liverpool fans.
‘There was a guy on the M60 on the way home,’ Neville continued. ‘Honestly. I’ve never been aggressive in my life but I pulled over.
‘It wasn’t a great last half hour after the game. It was a bit old-school.’
As he left the ground, Neville was subject to ‘abuse’ by the celebrating home supporters
Fans flocked to Merseyside to soak up the jubilant atmosphere as Arne Slot won his first title with the Reds
Neville’s side Man United have much more work to do if they are to re-gain their record title haul after Liverpool drew level
With Sunday’s title victory, Liverpool have equaled Man United’s record haul of 20 championships, and the Reds’ larger share of European cups could make the Merseyside club the most successful in England.
But Neville was quick to dispute that Slot’s outfit might be the ‘biggest’ in the country – noting only that their recent successes should be sending a shiver down the collective spine of the Man United hierarchy.
‘I grew up from the age of zero to 16 where I think Liverpool won ten league titles without reply and constantly had the argument about Manchester United being the biggest club in the world,’ Neville noted.
‘I will always maintain that Manchester United are the biggest football club in this country and that will never change, 100 per cent.
‘It’s not even a debate. However, the most successful club at this moment in time, in this period, is Liverpool. They’ve won 20 titles and they’ve won more European cups and they’re the trophies that we all measure ourselves by.
‘That should send tremors over to Old Trafford, to the ownership and to the players.’
As things stand, there is a 42-point difference between Liverpool and Man United, with Ruben Amorim’s players staking their place in Europe on a victorious Europa League campaign.
United will play the first leg of their semi-final against Athletic Bilbao in the ground that will host the competition’s final, Estadio de San Mames, on Thursday evening.
