Back when Gary Neville was an active professional footballer and captain of Manchester United, what set him apart in a team of superstars, what made him Roy Keane’s successor as Captain in 2005, was pure mentality. Neville was an astute footballer, combining determination and tenacity with his good footballing intelligence and remarkable work ethic. He was always dependable, playing his part in Sir Alex Ferguson’s famously disciplined defensive unit, and supporting attacks with well-timed runs down the right wing. He might not have lit up stadiums the way his close friend and then-teammate David Beckham did, but he was an integral part of that famous 1999 treble-winning team, and the world-famous Class of ‘92, a group of Manchester United academy graduates who went on to become superstars, which include the likes of Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Neville’s brother Phil.
Gary Neville was a fantastic team player, but that never stopped him from being a leader. And as much as it showed in his footballing career, it is perhaps even more apparent in his career after football.
Post-football, his career was perhaps even more impressive. Other than a tumultuous time coaching Spanish La Liga team Valencia (owned by his Singaporean business partner and friend, Peter Lim), Neville has built a strong media and business career. His work as a pundit — especially with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher — is the stuff of football media legend, and his work as host of The Overlap has given us some of the most compelling footballing and football-adjacent content of the digital age. I recommend watching his highly emotional interview with Dele Alli (embedded below) — Neville handled the interview, which included topics of sexual abuse and addiction, like a seasoned journalist, and with deep compassion.
Augustman had a quick conversation with Gary Neville when he was in town recently to talk about the upcoming redevelopment of the 41-storey St. Michael’s building at the heart of Manchester, a project he is spearheading through his investment company Relentless Group and its real estate arm, Relentless Developments. This luxurious project will introduce the city’s first-ever branded residences, W Residences Manchester. These high-end homes will provide residents with the full suite of amenities and services associated with a W Hotel, including 24-hour concierge, in-residence fine dining and laundry and drycleaning services. The residences will feature alongside a 162-room W Hotel, set to open first quarter of 2027. W Residences Manchester is the brand’s first outside London and one of only 20 worldwide.
It’s a big, historic project, one that will quite literally define Manchester’s cityscape and it’s fitting that Neville is the face and voice fronting it.
AUGUSTMAN: Congratulations on St. Michael’s and the W Residences Manchester, Gary. This project will change Manchester’s skyline, wouldn’t it?
Gary Neville: I do think this building is an iconic building, a building that could live in any major international city in the world, with the beautiful anodised bronze facade. We always try to be the best that we can be on this project. We want to be the best apartments, the best office commercial block. We want really amazing restaurants. We want a fantastic hotel where people can enjoy. Most of all, we want the residents of Manchester and people from around the world to travel to our city and enjoy the experience of St. Michael’s.
With this, you are playing a huge part in giving back to Manchester, a city that’s central to your career and your life.
I love the city. Everything I do is in the city or in the surrounding boroughs. I love travelling to different parts of the world, but I love my home city. We have a wonderful city. It has a great energy. People look after one another in Manchester. It’s like a team. Manchester is about people. Life in Manchester is all about people — connecting people, being with people, working with people, playing football with people, being alongside people. If you’re next to good people, you’ll have a better experience. Manchester has good people and not just people that come from the city, but also people from outside and most of all, who come here internationally.
Your first foray into property development was at 21.
I started investing in property and developing property while playing football. It’s something that I enjoy a lot. I’ve had great business partners, colleagues [and] friends, but I think it’s really important that one of my greatest mentors is Singaporean Peter Lim. He gave me a chance when I was young, when no one knew that I wanted to go into business. That takes a lot. I think that I owe Peter a lot for everything I’ve done over the last 10 to 12 years because he’s somebody that believes in young people. He’s someone who will invest in people and he’s given me and the rest of the class of ’92 a great opportunity.
Was that transition from football to business difficult?
There are a lot of similarities between football teams and business teams. We’re going into the office to build the right content, the right environment where people can enjoy themselves and deliver on the job, where there’s loyalty and trust in each other.
I’ve been part of a very successful football team and one of the best things that I’ve done since finishing my playing career is being part of teams that really filled that void, that gap I had since leaving the United dressing room. We’re like brothers. But now when I think of the teams that I have in Hotel Football, Salboy or St. Michael’s, we have a really special bond, with a great energy and spirit, commitment to work hard every day. We also get to enjoy work as well.
Is there anything you’ve learned in football that you carry over to business?
In football, I carry over being hardworking and making sure that I work with people as a team, and I enjoy working hard. At United, we’re used to travelling every single day. We look forward to it. I think that we’re like that in our businesses, we should be travelling every day and enjoy that. We want to work hard and reach the goal. We enjoy our lives as well. It’s really important that we have both sides.
To me, football is about talent-meets-hard-work. That is no different in business. If you have talented people who work hard, who are committed and trust each other, then you can gain success.
You have an amazing media career as a host and pundit, you’re handling multiple businesses, and you’re still involved in football. Who is the real Gary Neville?
I ask myself the same question [laughs].
Seriously, man, how do you find the time?
I did a recording of my show [The Overlap] with Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott on Wednesday morning, and then Wednesday night I flew here to Singapore. Tuesday I was in London for the Tottenham-Chelsea game. My company’s called Relentless because that was my football career. I was gonna work hard every single day and I wanted to carry on doing that in my post-football career.
