'I don't know how I would have survived': Gary Neville's bold claim on modern-day football

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Gary Neville believes the ever-changing nature of modern football would have been too much for him to handle as a player.

The defender-turned-pundit won eight Premier League titles as well as two UEFA Champions League crowns and is widely renowned as one of the most underrated full-backs of all time.

Now enjoying success with Sky Sports on our screens most weekends, the Salford City co-owner admits the roles seen by most defenders in today's game are fascinating for him to admire. 

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“I always think now in some way, if I was to time travel, I’d travel forward – every team I watch the full-backs, it starts to mesmerise me, and think, how would I have even survived," began the 49-year-old. 

"Not just watching you, forget you, you’re a freak with the way you pass the ball, but watching [Pedro] Porro at Spurs going into midfield, and doing what he does.

"And [Destiny] Udogie, you see what [John] Stones is doing at the moment at City, playing in midfield, then Kyle’s [Walker] having to tuck in and then get back out again. 

"My job was really simple. If my left back went forward, I’m tucking round. If I go forward, he’s tucking round. If it’s on my side, I’m going out there and getting to him."

Pedro Porro during his debut for Tottenham against Leicester, which the Foxes won 4-1.

Gary Neville has praised the versatility of the likes of Tottenham defender Pedro Porro. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Neville was speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet and further explained how complex a role full-back is now and how beneficial their output can be to a team.

"My game’s quite methodical, and what you’re being asked to do now on the ball, and the positions you’re being asked to take up, the degrees of difficulty are like here [up high], to the degrees of difficulty I was asked to play the game. 

"So, I would just love to be here now - you [Trent] would like to see me now, to see me suffer! 

"So, you’ll be saying, ‘you won’t be g*bbing off anymore!’ To be fair, I look at you all and think, I can’t even relate to it, the game.”

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Matthew Holt

Matthew is a Freelance Journalist and has racked up bylines for Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, GOAL and SPORTbible to name a few. A long-term sufferer of Scunthorpe United, he currently resides in the north-west after escaping the smog of North Lincolnshire.