Gary Neville and David Beckham may have been a dynamic duo on the pitch, but their off-field relationship was far from harmonious.
The pair spent 12 years together at Manchester United, joining both the club’s academy and then the senior squad simultaneously. Their close bond led them to share a room during overnight trips.
However, as Neville discovered, good friends don’t necessarily make good roommates. After six months of sharing a room with Beckham, the former defender was driven to distraction by a couple of significant issues.
READ MORE: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson went nuts over mad Man Utd stars – they’d argue and entertain us all’
READ MORE: Gary Neville says Tottenham taking ‘massive risk’ with tactic vs Leicester
Join the Daily Star’s WhatsApp for the sexiest headlines, showbiz gossip and lots more
The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us!
Through the app, we’ll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens…along with the latest breaking news of course.
To join our community, all you have to do to join is click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in!
No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
“I roomed with David Beckham for about six months and then the whole rooming with players completely stopped because everybody went into their own individual rooms. I think they worked out that players weren’t compatible with each other and that each went to bed at different times.
“I had two big problems with Becks…I used to go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 5am, he would stay up until 11pm and want to wake up at 8am, so essentially he was keeping me up from 9 until 11 and then I was getting him up at 5 in the morning, so it just wasn’t working at all,” he admitted, reports the Mirror.
Who do you think was the worse roommate, David Beckham or Gary Neville? Let us know in the comments section
(Image: PA)
But it wasn’t just their sleep schedules that were at odds their living habits were like chalk and cheese. Neville spilled the beans: “Secondly, he is the cleanest person. He gets into his room, he lights candles, he puts pictures up everything has to be absolutely perfect, it’s been the same since he was 18.
“I just throw everything everywhere, so it just did not work at all. I’m always talking, always arguing and he was the complete opposite of that. He would listen to music, he would want peace, he would want to be chilled and it’s just the complete opposite end of the spectrum of where I was at.”
Despite their inability to share a hotel room without driving each other bonkers, Neville and Beckham were a force to be reckoned with on United’s right side. They weren’t just in sync on the pitch; Neville’s marauding runs gave Becks the space he needed to whip in those iconic crosses.
(Image: Getty Images)
Together, they bagged six Premier League crowns, two FA Cups and a Champions League trophy. In 2003, Beckham jetted off to Real Madrid, ending their dynamic duo era at United.
Neville racked up over 600 games for the Red Devils, adding two more Premier League titles, three League Cups, another FA Cup and one more Champions League to his haul. Beckham, on the other hand, snagged a La Liga title with Madrid before heading stateside to LA Galaxy in 2007.
He later enjoyed loan stints at AC Milan and Paris St Germain before retiring in 2013, two years after Neville, who spent his entire career at Old Trafford, had also retired.