Gary Neville has hit back at Jamie Carragher after he dismissed the notion Manchester United's treble winners made a lasting impact on European football.
The Sky Sports pundit watched Manchester City tear Arsenal apart on Wednesday night to take control of the title race, putting them in a strong position to become champions again. Pep Guardiola has brought his unique style to the Premier League since arriving in 2016, which has his team on the cusp of winning a fifth title in six years.
The Catalan's methods have helped City arguably play the best brand of football seen in English football, whilst they have also claimed a host of records along the way. Carragher is now putting them amongst the most influential sides in history - but notably omitted the United side Neville played in from a list of teams he feels are unique.
Among those mentioned were Guardiola's Barcelona side, the AC Milan side of the early 1990s led by Arrigo Sacchi and the famous Dutch side featuring Johan Cruyff. The trio were renowned for the manner they played the game, but Neville believes his former team should feature.
Carragher was listing "great teams who changed the game" with Neville then responding: "Errrrr? You missed a team out my friend". United, led by Sir Alex Ferguson, remain the only English team to win the treble following their 1999 success, which City could yet emulate this season.
The former Liverpool man justified his statement by adding: "The Man Utd treble team did not influence European football!!! Those other teams/managers are still talked about today in terms of influencing the current generation of managers & tactics."
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Neville himself has also confessed that, whilst it remains an historic achievement across a single season, the 1999 side were unable to back up their European conquest by falling short for years afterwards.
“I think that this team, in a single season, is the best achievement in Manchester United ’s history. I’m not going to compare it to the [Arsenal] Invincibles, in our history, it’s the greatest single achievement to win the treble. But, that team then disappointed for two years after that in Europe," he told Sky Sports.
“We won three leagues on the bounce but we never did back-to-back it in Europe and that is the big point of that team, that we didn’t go on and do it again and again. Obviously, Sir Alex Ferguson, he demanded and wanted dominance, and we wanted dominance as well, but we were beaten by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals the year after and we fell short, you’ve got to go and win it again."
Neville also believes that City could yet match their historic feat, confessing they are “far too close for comfort” with a Champions League semi-final to come alongside an FA Cup final against United.
