Manchester United icon Gary Neville secures staggering £300,000 Sky Sports pay rise despite flopping with Valencia and England
Former Old Trafford defender back on the box for new Premier League campaign and is laughing all the way to the bank
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IT never pays to fail, but try telling that to newly reappointed Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
The former Manchester United defender left his cushy role to take on the huge challenge of coaching fallen Spanish giants Valencia last December.
But despite his sharp-eyed observations from the comfort of a plush studio, Neville’s first step into the world of management was an unmitigated disaster.
The 41-year-old failed to win a single match in his first nine league games and crashed out of the Europa League to Spanish rivals Athletic Bilbao.
Neville continued to struggle in the fiercely competitive La Liga and was eventually sacked almost four months after taking charge, winning just three of his 16 domestic games and leaving Valencia six points above the relegation zone.
Neville’s cause was further harmed when he travelled with England’s disastrous Euro 2016 squad as one of Roy Hodgson’s assistant coaches, but the Old Trafford favourite has chosen not to sign up for Sam Allardyce’s new regime.
Neville has instead decided to leave the dugout for a second bite of the Sky Sports cherry, and according to , he’s also laughing all the way to the bank after securing a staggering £300,000 pay rise.
Neville will now pocket £1.5m-a-year for his minimum of 40 appearances alongside Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher throughout the season, although he won’t be able to appear on any rival networks unlike highest-paid pundit and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
Whether Neville can rebuild his reputation as the best football buff in the business remains to be seen, but Premier League fans and Sky subscribers will certainly be hoping for their money’s worth this season.