Gary Neville has opened up on his coaching career.
The Manchester United legend admits his spell at Valencia was humbling but revealed before he took the infamous job that he had been approached by other clubs.
Speaking on The Overlap he said: “I took the Valencia job purely because I knew the owner and I felt like I owed him something and I was loyal to him, he believed in me in terms of the business.
“I had been asked by Middlesbrough for an interview, Newcastle and Derby asked to speak to me, all in the previous three years I had been on Sky, and I said no to every offer because it wasn’t what I wanted to be.
“I had started my businesses and my media career, so I didn’t want to be a coach and I had said no to Newcastle, which came from someone at Sky who had a contact at Newcastle as they wanted to speak to me, which was the same with Middlesbrough, and I’m not saying that would have got me the job but it could have.”
“When I first came out of football, in those first two years on television, I knew every player, I knew football inside and out and I felt like I could communicate the game well, which is different now 10 years later as I’ve distanced myself from the game, but I didn’t want to be a manager and I didn’t want to be a coach, and I said no to Peter Lim the first time, but he said that he really wanted me to do it.
“I signed on a five-month contract, and I didn’t last that time because it became impossible for Peter, for me and for everyone.”
