Gary Neville destroys ex-Tory MP candidate with response to Man Utd criticism

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville is rarely one to shy away from politics, and that has remained the case this week.

The 46-year-old ex-player hit out at former Prime Minister David Cameron in August, and took aim at home secretary Priti Patel during England's run to the Euro 2020 final.

Neville also went toe-to-toe with former Conservative MP Edwina Currie this month over the subject of Universal Credit, and has been critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnson on more than one occasion.

The pundit's stances have brought him unwanted attention from a number of directions, with former Conservative Party candidate Jack Rankin the latest to come for him, but Neville continues to fight his corner against attacks from the right.

What did you make of Gary Neville's comments? Have your say in the comments section

Gary Neville hasn't been afraid to fight his corner on political topics ( Image:

GETTY)

Neville accused the government of attempting to "buy more favour" in the north of England, saying "This isn't levelling up, it's PR finance designed by manipulative individuals".

The comments from the ex-player drew the attention of Rankin, who lost to Labour's Matt Western in the Warwick and Leamington constituency in the 2019 election.

Rankin pointed out Neville's failure to comment on "his mate" Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while continuing to criticise the government, but the former Man Utd man hit back at the criticism within minutes.

"Things he won't comment on: Solskjaer's suitability to manage ManUtd ('cause he's his mate). Things he will comment on: Anything and everything Boris," Rankin's tweet read.

"Things he won't comment on: Brexit Harm and The PM's ineptness. Things he will comment on: A football pundits opinion on his mate,".

Rather than deny his friendship with Solskjaer, a former colleague for a number of years, Neville instead pointed out the failure of the former parliamentary candidate to comment on the leader of the party for which he stood.

While Neville has received some pushback for his stance on Solskjaer's future, that doesn't mean others should be able to police what he says on non-football matters.

He questioned claims that Solskjaer had lost the dressing room after United's 5-0 defeat against Liverpool, and has criticised poor performances from the team this season.

Meanwhile, Neville's younger brother Phil has come to the defence of the manager, pointing out after the Liverpool loss that United have bounced back from 5-0 defeats before.