Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher and Manchester United legend Gary Neville have earned a lot of fame together as football pundits. From making jokes about each other to sparring over differences in opinion, they have become good friends from on-field enemies.
However, there are occasions when their personal biases take over the coverage and break the barrier of professionalism in media. Neville joined punditry after retirement and his analysis earned praise from the Liverpool fanbase that hated him as a player.
However, after the United legend’s embarrassing stint as the Valencia manager, his quality in punditry has rapidly fallen each season. While it is understandable that Neville will always wish the best for United and the worst for Liverpool but professionalism is important.
Conversing about the managerial change in the Stick To Football podcast, Neville made a false claim about Liverpool again. The former England right-back has said that Arne Slot was not Liverpool’s first choice and outlined that wrong narrative once again. He said:
“There is no doubt they were having a flirt around the market and seeing what they could do. I think if there was an unbelievable manager that could improve United 100 percent, beyond what Ten Hag could, they would have made a change. Liverpool had six months to replace Jurgen Klopp and still found it challenging to get their top targets.”
Neville has pushed the narrative that United did not replace Erik ten Hag due to the lack of top managers. He has stated that Slot was not Liverpool’s first-choice since the Reds 0-3 victory over their archrivals at Old Trafford.
However, Carragher responded to his narrative this time by asking where he had received this information. He said:
“Where are you getting it from that Arne Slot wasn’t Liverpool’s top target?”
Neville responded by stating that Carragher was pushing for Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso as the first-choice for Liverpool. Carragher immediately responded:
“That is my opinion! I am sure they did ask about Alonso and were told straight away that he was staying at Bayer Leverkusen. You’re saying Liverpool had this big search…how do we know exactly what went on behind the scenes at Liverpool? Why didn’t Man United employ Arne Slot then?”
Liverpool made a thorough assessment before pinpointing Slot as the perfect successor to Klopp at Anfield. While many fans wanted Alonso, the adored former Liverpool midfielder has an ongoing project with Leverkusen.
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If Neville could put his bias aside, he would understand that the strategies implemented by Liverpool are superior to United. The campaign is long and Liverpool faces the toughest fixture combination between the Champions League and the Premier League. Nevertheless, Slot’s appointment and the restructure of the hierarchy is another masterstroke by FSG who are keeping up with modern times.
