Gary Neville’s first Monday Night Football appearance of the season was a rare gaffe during coverage of Leeds vs Everton.
Gary Neville had a forgettable moment on the first Monday Night Football broadcast of the 2025/26 season, when he made a cutting joke while assuming he wasn’t on air.
The Manchester United legend’s appearances on the Sky Sports show are becoming increasingly rare, with Jamie Carragher joined by a different guest each week.
But Neville was in the booth for the season’s opening MNF, which featured newly promoted Leeds United hosting Everton at Elland Road.
Everything was going according to plan as Neville and Carragher discussed the weekend’s action and anticipate the final match of the day.
That was until the former Valencia coach mistook the broadcast for an advertisement break and was heard talking to Leeds supporters, stating, “That’s one group of fans I wouldn’t want to go near!”
Neville was unaware that the show was still on air when host David Jones waved to the former England defender, who dislikes Leeds following several fights with United throughout his playing career.
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Following an outburst of laughing, Neville inquired, “Did you hear that?” Jones, 50, repeated the contentious statement in the middle of his apology.
Jones then chimed in, saying, “I don’t think they want you anywhere near them!” before continued the program before kickoff.
Neville did run a restaurant in Leeds, which closed after reportedly incurring considerable debts. He praised Elland Road before the game, calling it “one of the great grounds and great atmospheres”.
Leeds is one of three clubs. Neville played for United for his whole career, totaling 598 appearances before retiring.
He was never involved in a move and stated that he could never have represented Leeds, Liverpool, or Manchester City owing to their great rivalry – however he did express respect for Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United.
“I’d decided quite early in my 30s that if Sir Alex [Ferguson] came and told me my time was up, I’d never play for anyone else,” Neville told Sky Sports, according to the Manchester Evening News.
“However, if he had approached me at the age of 28 and told me my time was over, I would have joined another Premier League team.
“Who should I have played for? You can rule out three. I would never have played for City, Liverpool, or Leeds. Not for a million years. I don’t feel terrible for the players that did it, but I myself couldn’t have done it. The rivalry is simply too much.
“If you had asked me, in a perfect world, during my playing career, which clubs in the Premier League had a tradition of being proper clubs? Arsenal would be number one. In keeping with Highbury tradition, I believe they did things correctly. In the Premier League, I support Aston Villa and Newcastle.”
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