Phil Neville

Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player. His most recent role was head coach of Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers. Along with several ex-Manchester United teammates, he is a co-owner of Salford City.

Neville spent a decade as a professional at Manchester United, winning six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, three FA Charity Shields, the Intercontinental Cup, and the Champions League. In 2005 he moved to Everton, where he played the final eight years of his career. Between 1996 and 2007 he earned 59 caps for England, appearing at three European Championships. A versatile defender and midfielder, he played in many positions but was most often deployed at left-back.

After earning his UEFA B Coaching Licence, Neville began coaching in 2012 by filling in for Stuart Pearce with the England under-21s. He later coached at Manchester United and served as assistant manager to his brother Gary at Valencia in La Liga. On 23 January 2018 he was appointed head coach of the England women’s team, leading the Lionesses to fourth place at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Born in Bury, Greater Manchester, Neville attended Elton High School, where he captained the football team for five years. He joined the Manchester United Academy with his brother Gary, signing associate schoolboy forms in September 1990. In the 1992–93 season he played 23 times for the club’s junior teams, including four FA Youth Cup appearances as United tried to defend the title Gary had won the previous year. He appeared alongside his brother in the second leg of the 1993 Youth Cup final, but Leeds won 4–1 on aggregate. In July 1993 he signed a trainee contract, made his reserve-team debut that October, and went on to eight reserve appearances in 1993–94, plus 31 for the junior sides. He won the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year Award in May 1994 and signed his first professional contract the following month.

Neville made his senior debut on 28 January 1995 in a 5–2 FA Cup win over Wrexham. His league debut came two weeks later, starting the Manchester derby at Maine Road. He made one more first-team appearance in 1994–95, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday. The following week he captained United in both legs of the Youth Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur. After a 2–1 loss and a 1–0 win, the tie went to penalties; Neville missed his kick, but Spurs missed twice, and United won 4–3 to claim their second Youth Cup in four seasons.

Neville became known as one of “Fergie’s Fledglings.” On 19 August 1995, in the first game of the new season, he was substituted at half-time in a 3–1 loss at Aston Villa—a match remembered for Alan Hansen’s “You can’t win anything with kids” comment. United went on to win the double. Because Denis Irwin played left-back, Neville often played right-back while his brother played central defence; he occupied that role in the 1996 FA Cup Final win over Liverpool. In a crucial league match at Newcastle in March 1996, his cross set up Eric Cantona’s winning goal. While at United, he collected many bookings—13 yellow cards in 2002–03 despite only 35 competitive starts—and received a warning from the FA in September 2003 for his conduct after a match against Arsenal. He helped United win six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and the Champions League.

On 4 August 2005 Neville joined Everton on a five-year contract for a fee over £3 million. He debuted in a Champions League qualifier against Villarreal, facing former United teammate Diego Forlán, and made his Premier League debut for Everton the following weekend against Manchester United—the first time he and Gary had played for opposing teams. Manager David Moyes valued his attitude, work rate, and willingness to play anywhere. On 8 August 2006 Neville was named vice-captain to David Weir, and when Weir left for Rangers in January 2007, he became club captain.

In a match on 29 November 2006, he and Gary became the first siblings to captain their respective clubs against each other in the Premier League. Neville received his first career red cards at Everton (he had never been sent off for United), and in 2005–06 he finished with more cards than any other Premier League player. He scored his first Everton goal in a 3–0 league win over Newcastle United on 30 December.