Gary Neville recounted a frightening incident where his drink got spiked during a Christmas celebration, leading him to believe he was facing death. Despite not being a heavy drinker, the former Manchester United star found himself hospitalized after just a few beers—a peculiar situation even for someone with a low alcohol tolerance.
During a recent Stick to Football podcast, Neville shared this alarming episode from his teenage years with Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott. “I ended up in hospital one Christmas do,” Neville recalled. “I thought I was going to die.”
Explaining the ordeal, Neville mentioned, “Someone spiked my drink. I don’t know what it was with,” Keane humorously quipped, “Alcohol.”
Reflecting on that time, Neville emphasized, “I never used to drink that much, and I didn’t drink that much [that night]. I swear I was spiked. And you didn’t have mobile phones back then. I was 18.”
Neville’s avoidance of excessive drinking aligns with his dedication to football from a young age.
He admitted that after leaving school at 16, he completely disconnected from his school friends. “When I left school at 16, I never spoke to my friends from school ever again,” he admitted on the podcast. “I look back at it now and it was terrible. I just thought that if I don’t put everything into football, then I’d regret it.”
Despite this sacrifice, Neville’s commitment to his football career paid off. He had an illustrious career at Manchester United, making over 600 appearances and securing 20 trophies, including eight Premier League titles and two Champions League triumphs.
While cutting off his friends may have seemed harsh, it appears to have been a necessary step toward achieving his remarkable football success.
