Danny Simpson, Manchester United
Danny Simpson’s emergence at Man Utd in the 2000s was helped by veteran defender Gary Neville, who even went out of his way to help the youngster secure a new deal.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s dislike of football agents once saw Gary Neville negotiate on behalf of his Manchester United teammate.
Danny Simpson, a future Premier League winner with Leicester City, was an emerging right-back at United in the mid- 2000s. The academy graduate was an understudy to veteran Neville, who had won a handful of Premier League titles by that stage in his career.
Neville took an interest in aiding the youngster Simpson, now 36, on the pitch. And he even went out of his way to help Simpson get a better deal at Old Trafford.
Speaking on Under The Cosh podcast, Simpson recalled:
“He actually negotiated my contract with Sir Alex. Sir Alex didn’t like agents, he was scared of getting people involved.
“Gary Neville was helping me and I was learning from him. I spoke to him asking for advice and Neville offered to help. I got him to go in with me, so it was me Gary and Sir Alex chatting about my contract! I was like, ‘is this happening?’
“Neville went in and said ‘Listen, he’s taking over from me. You’ve got to give him more than that [contract offer]. He got it bumped up. But I do look back now and I think maybe they were both in on it.”
“Listen, he helped me loads, I was there for a few years with him and I tried to base my game on how a full-back was back then. He told me ‘defend well and everything else is a bonus.’”
Simpson added.
Source: Daily Star
