Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed that the FIFA World Cup deserves to host the world’s best players, expressing sadness that Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will miss it.
Liverpool forward Salah failed to take his team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, losing to then-teammate Mane’s Senegal in the decisive qualifier.
Bayern Munich star Mane was initially included in Senegal’s 26-man squad, but could not carry on with his knee injury.
Without their talisman, the AFCON winners fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands in their 2022 FIFA World Cup opener on Monday (21 November).
Former Manchester United defender Neville expressed his sadness that neither Mane nor Salah will grace the field in Qatar, claiming that the tournament did not feel complete without them. Speaking on ITV, the former England international said (via LiverpoolEcho):
“Massive loss in Mane [for Senegal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup].
“I am sad that Mane’s not here. I really am. I feel like a tournament without him, even Salah, to be fair, from that point of view. You want to see the best players in the world in the tournament.”
Senegal, who are currently third in the standings, will take on Qatar in their second 2022 FIFA World Cup Group A fixture on 25 November.
Gary Neville analyzed why the Glazers might have to sell Manchester United
Hours after officially terminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract by mutual consent, United confirmed that they were looking for strategic alternatives for the club. If a suitable alternative is found, the Glazers could very well sell the club and move on.
Neville has long been critical of the way the Glazers have run the club, and last month, he explained why they might have to sell. He pointed out the infrastructural deficiencies at the club and the limited funds the Glazers have available to fulfill United’s demands. The former Manchester United defender said (via the Daily Mail):
“I can’t see how this is sustainable, how they can’t bring in investment, or a partner or sell. I just can’t see it. They haven’t got the money to be able to do what Manchester United need.
“United cannot continue to have a stadium like they have, when the rest of the stadiums in Europe and in the Premier League are improving on the scale that they are. That is half a billion on a refurb, a billion plus on a new stadium. Then you’ve got the training ground investment.”
Neville continued:
“United need to spend big money every single year and what they spent in this summer was well above the budget that they wanted to spend – they said that on the investor call last week.
“And it leaves them perilously low on cash, with a loan that they have to continue to keep paying.”