Jamie Carragher says Gary Neville ‘killed’ former Manchester United star Scott McTominay with an excessive amount of criticism before he moved to Napoli.
McTominay got here through United’s academy and had spent his entire on the club but was sold to Italian side Napoli for £25.7m in August 2024.
In his first season, McTominay helped Napoli clinch the Italian top-flight title, was crowned Serie A Most Precious Player and was even nominated for the Ballon d’Or – essentially the most prestigious individual award in football.
The Scotland international midfielder conjured up 12 goals and 6 assists in 34 Serie A matches last term, quickly becoming a Napoli fan-favourite.
Various former players, managers and football pundits have since slammed United for allowing the 28-year-old to depart the club last yr.
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Peter Schmeichel says United ‘never’ must have sold McTominay with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also blasting the Red Devils over the Scot’s exit.
Carragher: Neville was too critical of McTominay
Ex-Liverpool defender Carragher has now pointed the finger at fellow pundit and former United star Neville for his treatment of McTominay.
Speaking in a latest video posted on The Overlap YouTube channel, Neville asked: ‘What’s happened to Scott McTominay? Have we made an enormous mistake?’
Carragher said: ‘You’ve killed one other Man United player, that’s what happened. An excessive amount of criticism, [saying] he’s not adequate.’
Neville, though, insisted: ‘I didn’t say he wasn’t adequate… Not me. I never thought they need to have gotten rid of him.’
What did Neville say about McTominay?
Back in 2018, Neville questioned whether or not McTominay was adequate to play in midfield for United.
‘McTominay, after I watch him, I’m undecided he’s actually adequate on the ball to be a Man United midfield player,’ Neville said.
‘I do think he’s the sort that it’s good for him to play games in there – but I do ponder whether if actually he’s got more of a position at centre back eventually, the physicality that he has. He’s a giant lad.
‘Is he sharp enough on the ball to be a Man United central midfield player?’
Mockingly, McTominay has change into more of an attacking midfielder since swapping United for Napoli under the management of Antonio Conte.
McTominay has registered 18 goals and eight assists in 53 games for Napoli thus far. By comparison, he scored 29 times and provided eight assists across 255 matches for United from 2017 to 2024.
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