Man Utd: Sir Alex Ferguson’s key Gary Neville captaincy decision explained | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson gave a superb response when Gary Neville asked him if he could give up the captaincy.

Neville, 47, was made captain of the first team in 2005 following Roy Keane’s transfer to Celtic.

However he soon began to question whether he truly deserved it or not.

So he made up his mind to tell Ferguson that he was thinking of resigning.

But to his surprise, his former manager apparently told him to ‘keep the effing armband’ - and it seems there was a good reason for that.

GiveMeSport VIDEO OF THE DAY

What did Gary Neville say about Sir Alex Ferguson?

Speaking to Sky Sports in 2020, Neville said: "I got injured about a year after taking the captaincy and that became really difficult for me because I felt as though I wasn't contributing like a captain would do for the last four years of my career.

"I actually remember going to see Sir Alex one pre-season, I think it was about the third year I was captain, and it was obvious then, we had an amazing team.

"[Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Wayne] Rooney, [Carlos] Tevez, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes, [Michael] Carrick,[Rio] Ferdinand, [Nemanja] Vidic, [Patrice] Evra, [Edwin] Van der Sar - there were some great personalities and great players in that group.

"I went over to Sir Alex one day, walking over to the training pitch, and said: 'Boss, I don't feel worthy of keeping the captaincy anymore, this team's shifted onto a level that I can't compete at'.

"And he said: 'You'll keep that effing armband son'. Am I allowed to say that on Sky Sports? I think in lockdown you're allowed to say it.

“And the reason he gave me, he said: 'You and Giggs will rotate it. If I give it to Ronaldo, Rooney will kick off. If I give it to Rooney, Ronaldo will kick off, if I give it to Vidic, Ferdinand won't be happy'.

"So literally I think me and Giggsy kept the armband for about three or four years, and Giggsy beyond that, just purely because of the camaraderie in the dressing room, keeping things together.

"We were the policemen in the dressing room if you like, we were the older statesmen and we were setting the example.

"Sir Alex wanted to make sure that the team came first, even though I felt unworthy of the captaincy at that stage to be honest with you."