Neville extends United contract

omgukilledkenny SG

Manchester United club captain Gary Neville has signed a one-year contract extension which will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2010.

The 34-year-old Neville, who made his United debut in 1992, has struggled with injuries over the last year and despite the emergence of young Brazilian Rafael at right-back, the club had no intention of letting one of their stalwarts leave.

"Manchester United is the only club I have ever wanted to play for so I am delighted to have signed for another year," Neville told the club's official website manutd.com.

Neville's signature follows on from another United veteran, Ryan Giggs, agreeing a new deal last week.

Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed the news that Neville would remain at least until the end of next season.

"Gary, Ryan and Paul (Scholes) are the spirit of Manchester United and so we are delighted that Gary has signed for another year,'' he said.

"Gary is a true professional and I admire how he has overcome an injury which kept him out for over a year, returning as good as ever. He deserves this new contract and we are very happy to have him here.''

Neville was sidelined by a combination of ankle and groin problems dating back to March 2007, and only returned to competitive action in one match last season, against Roma in April.

He has started nine Premier League games so far this season, featuring in a further three as substitute.

iwant2bking SG

1st it was Giggs vs Derby, den Scholes against Fulham..

so it shuld yr turn to put in a superb performance dat will get every1 raving abt u rite?? =)

zocoss SG

A one-club man in an age of footballing mercenaries, Burnley-born Neville is a local lad who lives and breathes the club that he supported as a boy and eventually captained to the league title.

Here's 10 things you need to know about his amazing Manchester United career so far.

1) Gary Alexander Neville is currently fifth on Manchester United’s all-time appearances list with 565 games in all competitions under his belt. Paul Scholes is in fourth with 590, while the chart is, of course, topped by Ryan Giggs (788). He is one of just nine players to have played 500 times for the Reds.

2) A product of Manchester United’s famed early ‘90s youth system, Gary Neville got his first taste of success captaining the 1991/1992 FA Youth Cup winning side to a 6-3 aggregate final victory over Crystal Palace. The team also featured David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt, while Robbie Savage and Keith Gillespie were on the bench.

3) He made his senior debut aged just 17 against Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup on September 16 1992 and became a first team regular two seasons later.

4) His affectionate nickname Red Nev reflects both Neville's fanatical devotion to Manchester United, and also his socialist approach to football and players’ rights, as shown by his reproted involvement in the plan to boycott England’s Euro 2004 qualifier with Turkey following Rio Ferdinand’s failed drug test ban.

5) Neville’s love for Manchester United is such that before the 2002 Manchester derby, Gary was caught on camera snubbing former team-mate Peter Schmeichel’s offer of a handshake on the grounds that he had since signed for City.

The most famous example of Neville’s ‘Red mist’, though, came On January 22, 2006, following Rio Ferdinand’s last minute winner against Liverpool. Gary ran half the length of the Old Trafford pitch to perform this provocative celebration in front of the travelling Liverpool fans.

Neville was later charged with improper conduct by FA, fined £5,000 and warned about his future conduct. Not that he seemed unduly bothered:

“Are you meant to smile sweetly and jog back to the halfway line?” he said of the incident. "People want footballers to be whiter than white. Do they want a game of robots?"

6) He was made Manchester United captain following Roy Keane’s departure in December 2005, and in 2007 became the fifth to lift the Premier League title after Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona and Keane himself.

7) Neville has won seven league titles in all with Manchester United - and just about every other club honour as well. The full roll reads:

Seven Premier League titles: 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07
Three FA Cups: 1996, 1999, 2004
One League Cup: 2006
Three FA Community Shields: 1996, 1997, 2008
One Champions League: 1999
One Intercontinental Cup: 1999

8) He’s scored just seven goals in his 16 years as a Manchester United player (and all of them at Old Trafford), the first coming in the Premiership against Middlesbrough on May 5, 1997. The others were:

March 21st, 1999 v Everton (Premiership)
January 20th, 2001 v Aston Villa (Premiership)
March 12th, 2004 v Basle (Champions League)
April 12th, 2004 v Leicester (Premiership)
April 20th, 2004 v Charlton (Premiership)
Nov 23rd, 2004 v Lyon (Champions League)

9) Despite being the 9th most capped England player of all time, Neville is very much a club before country man.

“Getting back into the England squad is not something that I think about,” he said in November 2007. “Playing for United has always been the most important thing for me and remains so. If England recognition comes, that’s a bonus – but it’s not something that I think about too much. I’ve always considered it an extension to playing for United.”

10) Unsurprisingly, Manchester United fans have a special bond with life-long Red Neville, a fact they celebrate with the time-honoured song:

Gary Neville is a Red, is a Red, is a Red
Gary Neville is a Red, he hates Scousers

Our favourite terrace chant, though, is this one honouring Gary’s uniquely-named father, sung to the tune of David Bowie’s ‘Rebel, Rebel’:

Neville Neville… Your future's immense
Neville Neville… You play in defence
Neville Neville… Like Jacko you're bad,
Neville Neville… Is the name of your dad

sand king SG

YAY FOR NEVILLE!