Former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville has called his brother Gary an 'absolute idiot' for ignoring him on his return to Old Trafford.
Having played together at Manchester United for 11 years after coming through the youth ranks, the younger Neville sibling departed for Everton in 2005 and often lined up against his brother whenever the two teams clashed on numerous occasions.
And during a recent interview with MUTV, Neville recalled that during one fixture that came not long after his transfer to the Toffees, he was ignored by Gary, despite having said hello to former teammates Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Wes Brown.
Everton 3 Man Utd 1. February 2010. Cheers for the game bro'. Gary and Phil Neville at the final whilstle #Prem pic.twitter.com/u75EvVtTVq
— Michael H (@MikeH1964) November 16, 2015
It was only when the cameras of broadcaster Sky Sports turned away, did his older brother eventually greet the Everton defender, leaving him fuming and labelling the now-TV pundit "an absolute idiot."
He said: "I was speaking to him about it the other day. It was one of the early games, and I went down the tunnel, and you just think, he's going to say hello. And he didn't. He's going to say something. I turned round.
"Giggsy said hello, Scholesy said hello. I think Wes [Brown] was there and said hello. And then there's a camera right in front of where the captains are and I thought, 'typical Gary – he's playing to the cameras, playing for show'.
"The minute we went past the camera, seriously, he went, 'all right Phil, how's it going?'. What an absolute idiot. For the cameras, for Sky Sports and his image, he thought, 'I'm not saying hello to him'. I thought, 'Nah, that's not for me, kidda'."
Phil Neville confirmed as Man Utd coach: “I couldn’t resist. I gave my all for Everton but it is no secret that this club is in my heart."
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) July 4, 2013
The younger Neville sibling also outlined what it was like to return to Old Trafford and play against his former club in the Red Devils, adding: "I hated it. Because you imagine the family. My dad wanted United to win, [and] my mum just wanted me and my brother to get through the game unscathed.
"My twin sister was obviously in the Everton end, so it tore the whole family apart. It was just one of the games where I found… if United won, I probably got criticism from the Everton fans for being a United fan.
"If Everton won, my family wouldn't speak to me. It was just one of those awkward situations – I just wanted that game out of the way."
Source : 90min