"Their senior players were big drinkers" - Gary Neville claims he once spotted Liverpool players in night club at 4 AM during his playing days
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed that Liverpool players during his playing days used to drink a lot. Making his debut in 1992 and playing till 2011, Neville highlighted that the Reds also had a really strong core of players during his early days in football.
The former Red Devils captain then highlighted the differences between the Reds and the Manchester United squad back at that time. He told on Stick to Football podcast, as quoted by The Daily Star:
"What we came into [at Manchester United], at that time [1992/93] Liverpool had a talented group of players, and I don’t dismiss that some of them were as talented as we were, like [Steve] McManaman, [Robbie] Fowler, Jamie Redknapp, and a couple of others."
The former Manchester United right-back added:
"Their senior players were big drinkers. They had a talented group at Liverpool and there was one year where they were pushing us for the title, in 1995/96, but our senior players, I felt, were more professional and were more talented."
Neville concluded:
"To me, there wasn’t an excess [of drinking], where we put games in doubt, but I remember seeing Liverpool lads at Cheerleaders [a nightclub]. Cheerleaders on a Wednesday night, I went a couple of times and I remember the Liverpool lads were in the corner, the United lads would go home around 1am but the Liverpool lads were [there until] 4am, 5am on a Wednesday."
Manchester United overtook Liverpool as the dominating force in English football during the 90s under the tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson. Neville was part of the famed Class of 92 that paved the way for the Red Devils' enormous success over the years with the full-back winning eight league titles.
Jurgen Klopp considering a move for Manchester United target as his final signing at Liverpool - Reports
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reportedly given the Reds the green light to sign PSV Eindhoven youngster Johan Bakayoko. As claimed by Teamtalk, the German has advised the club to secure the Belgium international's signature.
The 20-year-old winger has been in flying form for PSV this season in the Eredivisie having scored six goals and provided 13 assists in 33 games across competitions. Jurgen Klopp's side have been long-term suitors for the fleet-footed winger and reportedly wanted him last summer.
Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the Belgian but could now face competition from their arch rivals. The Reds have a situation on their hands with star attacker Mohamed Salah reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Arabia and Bakayoko could be a potential replacement for the Egyptian.