Gary Neville has revealed that he was relieved to see David Beckham leave Manchester United 14 years ago and put an end to the tension between club and player.
The former England captain won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League with the Red Devils, however, he endured a stormy relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson towards the end of his time at Old Trafford and was sold to Real Madrid in 2003.
"I knew it was coming to an end a little bit from the previous 12 months. I was aware of what was going on behind the scenes," Neville told Stretty News TV. "There were some public things that had happened that were pushing it a little bit.
"When David left, to be honest with you, at the time 'sad' probably wasn't the right word. I was probably relieved a little bit. For him, for the club - it could never end badly, that relationship.
"David had done so much for the club and the club had done so much for David. He loves the club and the club loves David. It could never end badly. His time had probably come at United where it was right to leave.
"There was a bit of me that was relieved that that tension, that little bit of an underlying thing that was there had gone. He was a brilliant player and I loved playing with him and knew exactly what he was going to do and he knew exactly what I was going to do."
As well as Real, Beckham also played for Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain before hanging up his boots in 2013.
Giuseppe Labellarte
