Man Utd legend Gary Neville ‘snapped’ at ‘abusive’ Liverpool fans after title win

Gary Neville says he was ‘abused’ and ‘snapped at’ a couple of Liverpool fans as he tried to make a hasty getaway before Arne Slot’s men celebrated their Premier League title triumph on Sunday.

The Reds cruised to a resounding 5-1 victory over Tottenham to clinch the title with four games to spare – an achievement that puts the club level with bitter rivals Manchester United on 20 league titles.

Dominic Solanke opened the scoring for Spurs in the 12th minute to silence Anfield, but the response from Liverpool was emphatic, with Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah all hitting the target.

Destiny Udogie directed the ball into his own net to complete the rout in the 69th minute, sparking jubilant scenes on Merseyside, with Slot becoming only the fifth manager to win the title in his first season in England.

Neville, on commentary duty for Sky Sports, was scathing with his assessment of Tottenham’s lacklustre performance, directing much of his criticism at Lucas Bergvall over his ‘pathetic’ defending for Gakpo’s goal.

At the full-time whistle, the legendary ex-United right-back darted for the exit in the hope of avoiding Liverpool supporters celebrating the historic moment – but his hopes of a making quick escape did not quite go as planned.

‘At the end of the game, I normally do a podcast. But I made the decision partway through the game, it was getting a bit fruity up where I was in the gantry,’ he explained on the latest episode of It’s Called Soccer.

‘The security guard with me was here [beside 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 can 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 – an eight-time Premier League-winner with United – was later forced to pull over in his car after copping some ‘old-school’ abuse on his journey back home from the ground.

‘There was a guy on the M60 on the way home… honestly. I’ve never been aggressive in my life but I pulled over,’ the former England defender added.

‘It wasn’t a great last half hour after the game. It was a bit old-school.’

Neville hopes Liverpool’s latest title win has sent ‘tremors’ to both United’s ownership and Ruben Amorim’s players, with 42 points separating the two clubs this season.

‘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 continued.

‘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.’

Despite Liverpool’s success in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, Neville is adamant United remain the ‘biggest club’ in England.

‘I don’t want to be that bitter rival that says we’re the most successful club. We’re not the most successful club at this moment in time,’ he went on.

‘However, I’ve said this regularly, Manchester United will return, just as you can’t keep Liverpool down.

‘But the debate at this moment in time, until Manchester United start winning again, is over on success. Liverpool are the most successful club in this country.

‘What I haven’t enjoyed in the last 24 or 48 hours, and I haven’t answered to it, is where people have transmitted that into Liverpool being the biggest club. They’re not the biggest club.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.