Man Utd skipper Neville fed-up with players relying on agents for everything

Manchester United captain Gary Neville has slammed the Premiership's pampered stars.

Neville is infuriated by mollycoddled players who pay their agents hundreds of thousands of pounds a year just to set up a bank account - or buy them a fridge.

Neville was speaking just days after Alex Ferguson launched a similar attack on wealthy top-flight stars, branding them 'cocooned'.

The right-back, 34, said: "I completely agree with his sentiments. It is one of my pet hates when I see players who have agents that do everything for them. They don't know how to set up their own bank account, they don't know what they're spending their money on and they can't make their own decisions.

"Not every player is like that but some are totally dependent on agents and advisers. A footballer should sit down and negotiate with a club, even if his agent is sitting with him.

"It is in a player's best interests to be there and see what is going on."

Neville revealed a player can pay an agent up to 15 per cent of his wages to represent him.

That means a star on £100,000 a week would pay an agent £15,000 every seven days - which works out at a whopping £780,000 a year.

Neville added: "The idea of allowing someone to look after your financial and professional existence is something I cannot agree with.

"Some agents do a good job but there are others who stifle and mollycoddle players. Some agents will come into a player's life when he is 20, leave his life at 34 and never want to know him again.

"Every footballer needs an adviser at some point. But a player doesn't need to pay between five and 15 per cent of his wages to a guy to set up a bank account, buy him a new fridge, or ask his club's chief executive for a pay rise."