9 months ago
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Gary Neville believes Manchester United played against an Italian club who were ‘not clean’ during a European clash in the mid-2000s.
The ex-Red Devils’ captain represented the club 602 times leaving just Ryan Giggs, Sir Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes and Paul Scholes with more Manchester United appearances.
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Neville sparked an immediate love affair with European football after making his United debut in a UEFA Cup tie against Torpedo Moscow in 1992.
He later went on to help United lift the Champions League twice during his 19-and-a-half-year playing career, with famous wins over Bayern Munich in 1999 and Chelsea in 2008.
But the defender-turned pundit admits that his European adventures with United sometimes left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Neville alluded to one particular campaign in the mid-2000s where he felt the game was not being played on an even keel.
The 48-year-old stopped short of revealing the club in question for legal reasons but admitted a sense of something ‘not being right’.
“I think there were a few teams we played against that weren’t clean, we thought it at the time,” Neville told the Stick to Football podcast.
“When you look back at what came out after, in cycling and other sports. We thought at the time something [wasn’t right]. Physically, we were fit, we weren't drinkers.
“I came off the pitch against an Italian team and thought, that’s not right. I know a couple of other lads in the mid-2000s thought the same thing."
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Neville’s former Manchester United teammate Roy Keane concurred with him and provided his own recollection of a particular match against a Serie A side.
Keane added: “Against certain teams we’d be walking off absolutely shattered and I’d be looking at players I’d played against, a couple of Italian teams, and they looked like they’d not even played a match.”
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United endured various tussles with the might of Serie A during Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure.
Famous ties against the Italy's most prominent sides live long in the memory with none more iconic than the 1999 Champions League semi-final victory over Juventus in Turin, spearheaded by arguably Keane’s greatest-ever performance for the club.
