Manchester United legend Gary Neville has spoken of his rivalry with Manchester City rebel Carlos Tevez.

Neville wrote in his column for the Mail on Sunday: "Two years ago I said that Sir Alex Ferguson had done the right thing by letting him leave United. I remember Carlos responded by calling me a 'sock sucker.'

"I was never entirely sure exactly what that meant, though I think we all got the gist.

"Many people, particularly Manchester City fans, thought my comments were sour grapes.

"But I had seen what had happened in the club in the last year of his contract, with Carlos not reacting well to the introduction of Dimitar Berbatov and being on the bench on more occasions than he would like.

"And the way in which he tried to whip the crowd up into a frenzy, encouraging that 'Fergie, Fergie sign him up' campaign.

"I don't think any of the experienced players at United at the time were conned by that.

"In my opinion, when he scored against Manchester City in a vital end-of-season game, ran to stand in front of the directors' box and pushed his ears out as if to say: "Are you listening?", it was clear that the situation was divisive and that Sir Alex would nip this problem in the bud.

"Controversy now follows him around, which explains why there were no takers for him this summer."