Gary Neville sets out plans for next 10 years as he addresses calls to run for Manchester mayor

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has set out his plans for the next 10 years as he addressed calls to run for mayor of Manchester.

The 51-year-old had been rumoured to make a bid to become the next mayor after Andy Burnham prepares to step away in a bid for Labour leadership, should he win the upcoming Makerfield by-election.

The former England international had been linked with becoming a politician after joining the Labour Party over four years ago, but dismissed any calls for him to run.

"I love what I do in my life in Manchester, the business I run with the teams that I work with," he told The Telegraph.

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"I've committed to that, and I'm not going to basically take a role, or look to take a role, because, to be fair, who knows what would happen right now with the way in which electoral results are going?

"I'm committed to what I'm doing. There is no way in a million years that I could ever be - even if I wanted to be - the Mayor of Manchester in the next 10 years because of what I've committed to."

Neville explained his successes in the media world are occupying his time, while his work with League Two side Salford City impacts his long-term plans.

He said: "I've just done a partnership with Global, where we've launched a five-to-10-year business plan.

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Neville continued: "We've just reinvested in Salford City for the next five to 10 years. I love the work I do on Sky television, and I've got three years left on my contract with Sky, and I love doing Super Sunday.

"I love football too much."

Speaking about England's chances, the pundit said England's "biggest job" will be ensuring Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson "protect that back four".

He said: "Those two are going to have to have world-class summers for us to win the tournament.

"I love Morgan Rogers – love him. But, let's be clear, Jude Bellingham is not a sub. He's not a sub; he's a star. That's it. He's a star."

Thomas Tuchel sent a warning to Bellingham ahead of the World Cup, saying the midfielder has a fight on his hands.

He said: "Yes, he has. He is one of the starters; he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters.

"These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters, and Jude is one of them."

Bellingham missed just shy of half an hour during England's 2024 European Championship campaign, starting all seven games for the Three Lions.

Tuchel continued: "You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite. This is his key characteristic, but you can see that he comes from an injury and is full of energy and happy to be back on the pitch.

"He had his break, unfortunately, in a decisive part of the season, the Champions League season and campaign for the championship in Spain, so this was very unfortunate for Real Madrid and for him personally.

"But you can see now that he is actually in a sweet spot. He comes back, he's fresh, he wants to play, and he's in top shape."

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