Liverpool won their 20th English top-flight title on Sunday to draw level with Manchester United
Gary Neville has warned that Liverpool matching Manchester United’s historic tally of 20 league titles should send “tremors” through Old Trafford.
Liverpool secured the Premier League crown on Sunday with a commanding victory over Tottenham, officially drawing level with United in number of titles won. For United fans, and former players like Neville who battled to establish United’s supremacy under Sir Alex Ferguson, the moment carries a bitter taste.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville didn’t shy away from emphasising the significance of the moment.
“It’s a massive deal,” said the former Manchester United captain. “When you think of the league title and the importance of the league title, you think of the great managers that Liverpool have had in Shankly and Paisley, Kenny Dalglish, Joe Fagan, and at United as well, talking about the importance of your bread and butter being the league title.
“The accolade of the most successful club, you could debate it, maybe when Manchester United were on 20 titles and obviously Liverpool do have more European Cups but once Liverpool get level with Manchester United, the painful thing to say is that unfortunately the debate is over until Manchester United become successful again and win leagues.”
Neville, who was part of the Manchester United side that dominated English football during the late 1990s and early 2000s, said it was a hard-fought journey for Sir Alex Ferguson’s United to surpass Liverpool’s long-standing record. The Red Devils won 13 trophies in the Premier League era to match and then surpass Liverpool’s 18 top flight titles, before the reds won under Jurgen Klopp in 2020 to take their tally to 19.
“It should cause real tremors over at Old Trafford,” said Neville, “the idea that Liverpool, which is obviously a great football club and now the most successful club and will be after today, in English football, that really should cause heartache and pain.
“It took a lot to get ahead of Liverpool, they were miles ahead when Sir Alex Ferguson took over.”
Ferguson famously made it his mission to “knock Liverpool off their perch” when he arrived at United in 1986, a goal he managed to achieve by the time of his retirement in 2013.
However, a decade of inconsistency, managerial failures, and expensive signings of mediocre talent have seen United’s grip on English football slip dramatically.
