Former Manchester United fullback Arthur Albiston has paid tribute to Gary Neville.
Neville announced his retirement yesterday.
Albiston told manutd.com: "Gary's stopped playing at the very top level. Credit to him for that - it's not easy to play for Manchester United for almost 20 years, until you're almost 36 years of age. He's had a tremendous career.
"I don't think many people saw Gary's retirement coming. At least not yet. I thought we might see him call it a day at the end of the season, just because he's not played an awful lot of football this term. But perhaps he feels he can no longer give the sort of performances that are required at Manchester United.
"It's a very difficult decision to retire and at the end of the day you're the only person who knows when the time is right to stop playing.
"I just hope everybody realises how fortunate we've been to have watched him. Gary was one of the most consistent performers in the English league for many, many seasons and could always be relied upon in big games. He's admitted on many occasions that he isn't the most naturally gifted footballer, but I think he sells himself a bit short: you don't play more than 600 games for the biggest club in the world without being a top, top player.
"It's a sad day and I know a lot of United fans will be upset. Fans of other clubs? I'm not so sure! Gary always wore his heart on his sleeve and made no secret of his love for United. You could see how much it meant to Gary whenever the club won trophies. We'll miss him, that's for sure."
