“I never saw Ronaldo” – Ex-Man United captain explains why David Beckham was a better teammate than CR7
While Cristiano Ronaldo might be one of the greatest players of all time, Gary Neville enjoyed his partnership with David Beckham way better.
The two Englishmen were part of the iconic class of 92, a group of Man Utd youth products who went on to become stalwarts in the first team under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. The group also included the likes of Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
During their time together at Old Trafford, Beckham and Gary Neville formed a great duo on the right flank, terrorizing the opposition as they combined technical skills with hard-working ethics.
Nevertheless, Becks’ thorny rapport with Sir Alex eventually prompted his departure in 2003, as he ended up joining Real Madrid’s Galacticos. The Scottish manager had a trick up his sleeve, replacing the departing superstar with a certain teenager from Sporting CP and immediately handing him the iconic Number 7 shirt.
Gary Neville preferred teaming up with David Beckham over Cristiano Ronaldo
While Ronaldo went on to cement himself as one of the greatest players to ever step foot on a football pitch, Neville still feels that Beckham was a better teammate, as he was always there to support his teammates.
“Well I never saw Ronaldo, Beckham was better to play with because he actually played with you.” said the former Manchester United captain during his appearance on Sky Sports.
“Ronaldo, that was one of the things about him, he was never in front of you. The odd time he was, you could make quite a lot of dummy runs around the back of him. He was a great individual who could play all across the front line. I think obviously the partnership with Beckham was something that was special.
“But Ronaldo at two or three years at Old Trafford was absolutely incredible,” reckoned the 49-year-old.