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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has said that it would be fitting if Pep Guardiola’s led Manchester City were to become the side that equalled Sir Alex Ferguson‘s achievement of winning the treble.
Man City are only two games away from winning the treble. Already, City have been crowned Premier League champions.
Guardiola’s men are also in the FA Cup final, where they will face United at Wembley on June 3rd.
After that, City will travel to Istanbul to clash with Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Arsenal’s defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest on Saturday effectively handed City the Premier League title. In the process, the Sky Blues became the only other club apart from Man United in England to win the title three times in a row.
United is also the only English club to have won the treble – a feat Sir Alex Ferguson‘s all-conquering team achieved in 1999.
Neville spoke to The Times and revealed that he still harbours hope that the Red Devils can stop City at Wembley by winning the FA Cup. He, however, only gave the Red Devils a 5% chance of doing so.
The former United defender stated that if City were to win the treble, their current team would proudly stand alongside United’s 1999 side in reputation.
Neville remarked, “Do I want City to win the Treble? No! No! No, I don’t. Nobody wants City to win the Treble if you’re a Manchester United fan.”
“But if they do the job in the Premier League and beat Manchester United [in the FA Cup final] and Inter Milan [in the Champions League final] you’d just have to hold your hands up and say, ‘this manager and this group of players have achieved something unique.’ And that, actually, it’s quite fitting if this manager does it.”
Neville was quick to say that Sir Alex is still the greatest manager of all time despite Guardiola’s brilliance in the current Premier League era.
“Sir Alex Ferguson deserves to be the only manager in history to have done the Treble because he’s the greatest but if Pep Guardiola joined him, he’d be a worthy companion, because I think he is equal of what Sir Alex Ferguson achieved.”
“If you think what he did at Barcelona then Bayern Munich, and what he’d do at City with the Treble. I mean, when we talk about greatness, we have to mention that Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t just furnished with great young players and a great kitty to spend at Manchester United — he turned Aberdeen into kings of Europe, beating Real Madrid, and kings of Scotland over Rangers and Celtic — and that in itself is a massive achievement.”
“Then to come to Manchester United and break Liverpool’s dominance and do what he did over a period of time. In terms of longevity and consistency, he’s the greatest. But what we’re seeing now from Pep, having been at City for six or seven seasons.”
Neville added, “I think Pep now sees what Sir Alex did and thinks, ‘Right, I can go on for six, eight, ten years.’ Because where is he ever going to get the platform to do what he does like at City.”
Having desecrated the achievements of his former manager and teammates by suggesting a City treble would be comparable to theirs, the 48-year-old took time to give his thoughts on United’s ongoing takeover.
Neville told The Times that he is not opposed to Sir Jim or Sheikh Jassim’s proposals. His main quarrel lies with private equity firms such as Elliott Management and Ares Management.
The United legend stated that football should not be used for profit, which is the primary motivator of private equity bidders.
Football is an emotive sport that transcends beyond revenue and money-making ventures. Neville said that all money football clubs generate should be pumped back inside them to sustain their development.
Neville said that while he would support Sir Jim or Sheikh Jassim’s proposals based on their respective manifestos, there is no chance he would be open to an equity fund taking over at Old Trafford.
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