Man Utd Legend Gary Neville Reveals Reason Behind Refusal to Shake Ex-Teammate's Hand

Gary Neville has revealed the reason behind his refusal to shake Peter Schmeichel's hand prior to the Manchester derby in 2002. The Danish goalkeeper is

Gary Neville has revealed the reason behind his refusal to shake Peter Schmeichel's hand prior to the Manchester derby in 2002.

The Danish goalkeeper is considered a legend at Old Trafford, but made the questionable cross-city move to arch rivals Manchester City following spells at Sporting and Aston Villa. The decision to join City was not looked upon kindly by United fans, and the tension came to a head in the tunnel before the 2002 Manchester derby when Neville refused to shake Schmeichel's hand.

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Speaking on the Quickly Kevin, Will He Score? podcast, Neville explained the reason behind the snub, and delved into the kind of mentality needed to play for a Sir Alex Ferguson side at the time.

"At the time when he came back, he [Schmeichel] played for Manchester City. You can't play for Manchester City. I'm a United fan and I can't play for Manchester City, I can't play for Leeds and I can't play for Liverpool. That's just written in stone. You just don't play for those clubs, irrespective of what happens.

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"The other thing was at that time I hated everybody, we all did. Everybody hated us, we all hated everybody. That's the way it was. With Sir Alex, you're on an island and we were siege mentality. If you're not on the island, do one, I didn't shake hands with my brother when he was captain of Everton," Neville added.