Spoiler: he doesn’t rate him at all.
Gary Neville never holds back when assessing performances and those performing. However, you feel that, with his obvious connection to Manchester United, he’s in a position to go in on the current Red Devils crop a little harder than players at other clubs.
After Saturday’s exhilarating double-header of last-16 action in the World Cup, Neville did just that. Following Portugal’s defeat to Uruguay, the ITV panel turned their attention to the day’s earlier kick-off, which ended up being a wildly entertaining 4-3 win for France over Argentina.
When Neville was asked by presenter Mark Pougatch if we will see Lionel Messi in a World Cup again (the Barcelona forward will be 35 by the time the next one comes around), he instead bluntly revealed what he thought of United defender Marcos Rojo.
Having scored the winner against Nigeria to send Argentina through to the last-16, Rojo endured a nightmarish 45 minutes up against France and their electrifying two-goal hero Kylian Mbappe.
Just 12 minutes in, Rojo hauled a full-speed Mbappe down in the box and gave away a penalty. He struggled from there on in before being substituted at half-time.
It’s clear that Neville wasn’t all that impressed.
“You can talk about Messi with Argentina but from the very first game against Iceland, you have Willy Caballero in nets, Rojo at centre-half – what chance have you got? You’ve got no chance,” Neville said.
“So yeah, from Messi’s point of view, maybe that’s it.”
It’s not the first time Neville has criticised the 28-year-old during the World Cup in Russia. During Argentina’s opening draw against Iceland, Neville called him a ‘muppet’ for attempting a shot at goal from long distance.
“When the ball came to Rojo – I’ve been watching him for four years at United – I was thinking, ‘don’t shoot from there, you Muppet,” Neville said.
He’s clearly not much of a fan.
