Gary Neville has been accused of "taking a cheap shot" at Manchester United's underperforming stars by Danny Mills.
The Red Devils are in the midst of a battle for the top four following an inconsistent season, which will, again, see them finish without a trophy as their silverware drought extends to five years. Their last hope of glory was in the Champions League but their last outing saw them beaten by Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish side secured a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the last 16 and will now play Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Since the reverse to Atletico, interim boss Ralf Rangnick has travelled to the Caribbean whilst Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho - two men who were snubbed for England selection - have jetted off to Dubai.
Neville took issue with their antics following their European exit. He tweeted: "I remember a time when United players, managers, executives wouldn’t be seen in their local Italian after a draw at home let alone getting knocked out of Europe. This last week we’ve seen a global tour of F1, concerts, cricket and UFC events. This lot are tone deaf."
His comments divided opinion with some insisting the players were entitled to enjoy their downtime. Gary Lineker was among those to engage in debate with Neville and Mills has now made his feelings clear. The former Leeds defender saw no issue with United's players, not matter how out of form, enjoying "normal" activities.
He told Football Insider : "There’s a huge difference between going to a nightclub at a VIP table with bottles of champagne and sparklers where it looks like you are celebrating than going out for a meal with family or friends or going to a sporting event. What are you supposed to do? You need some time to decompress, some time to clear your head. Why shouldn’t you go out for a meal?
"Yes, don’t go out celebrating or falling out of nightclubs because that looks like you don’t care. If you just want to go out for a meal why wouldn’t you? That’s quite normal."
He went on to add: "It’s a bit childish. Does Gary Neville say to his kids after they’ve had a bad day at school, 'Go to your room, you’re not having any dinner'? You say 'Ok, it hasn’t worked. Let’s do what we normally do and talk about it tomorrow'. It doesn’t mean you don’t care and it hasn’t affected you.
"It’s a cheap shot from Gary Neville. Those players [Neville’s United teammates] all went out and got hammered. It just wasn’t on social media and there weren’t loads of pictures being taken." United sit four points behind Arsenal in fourth despite playing a game more as they chase a spot in next season's Champions League.
