Pulling on the Three Lions shirt is one of the proudest moments in any English footballer’s career.
Representing a nation in major international tournaments is the ultimate honour, but with that privilege comes immense responsibility, not just to perform, but to shoulder the hopes of millions back home.
Few players know that feeling better than Gary Neville. The Manchester United legend was a mainstay at right-back for England during one of the most turbulent periods in the national team’s modern history, and he is remembered among the Premier League greats as well.
But while many England stars have faced criticism over poor performances, Neville found himself in a completely different storm in 2003 - one that painted him as, in his own words, ‘the most hated footballer in the country.’
It all stemmed from his decision to back Rio Ferdinand, who was controversially dropped from the England squad after missing a routine drugs test. Neville, along with several senior players, threatened to boycott a Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey in protest, believing his teammate had been unfairly treated by the FA.
But the situation spiralled out of control and Neville was ultimately pushed to the verge of a breaking point as a result.
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He was on the verge of walking out on England at 28
Neville recollected his experience during the incident in 2003 to the Daily Mail, revealing how it almost tore apart his international legacy that he had so carefully worked to put together.
"I’ll always be the one who takes the blame for the England team threatening to go on strike before the Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey.
"At 28, I would never play for England again. I’d be slaughtered by the media and fans. I’d definitely become England’s most hated footballer - if I wasn’t already. But that’s how strongly I felt about it."
He continued: "It was the week of England’s final group qualifier for Euro 2004 and my dad had just picked up me and my brother to take us to Manchester Airport to fly down to London to meet up with the squad when I took a call: Rio had been dropped over the missed drugs test. My initial reaction was that it was a joke."
Along with captain David Beckham, Neville organised a team meeting in which it was unanimously agreed for the squad to go on strike ahead of the qualifier match. It was a bold move, especially given where he was in his career.
At 28, Neville was right in what should have been the prime years of his career. For context, by that point, he had already featured for England at two European Championships in 1996 and 2000, as well as a World Cup in 1998, only missing the one in 2002 due to injury.
Meanwhile, at Manchester United, Neville will have been on course to win his sixth Premier League title in just eight years. Retirement at such a stage was quite simply unheard of, but it was something he seriously considered after he saw the media backlash.
"By the morning, news of our vote was out in the papers and we were being labelled a disgrace. The media weren’t exactly rushing to support a load of millionaires threatening to go on strike.
"Unless the FA backed down, I was going to have to walk out, even though the consequences would be grave.
"My head was banging with the pressure. But the more I thought about it, the more I could only see one way out — through the exit."
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Ferguson's Call Stopped Neville
The Scot convinced him to back down
Gary Neville and Sir Alex Ferguson
Throughout his career, Neville often spoke about the immense respect he had for Ferguson. So when he found himself on the verge of quitting England, it was only fitting that the legendary Scot was the one to step in and convince his right-back to back down.
"Look, you’ve trained too hard, played too hard, you can’t throw everything away. You’ve made your point, you’ve taken it as far as you can, now you’ve got to go and play the game.
"You just need to calm down and think that your England career could be over in one hit. What effect does that have on you as a player, as a person? Does that affect United? I can’t let you do that."
By the time the dust settled on the Rio Ferdinand saga, Neville remained an England player, though his international career never quite recovered.
England once again fell short of expectations at Euro 2004, suffering a painful quarter-final defeat to Portugal on penalties. Two years later at the 2006 World Cup, history repeated itself with another gut-wrenching exit at the same stage, to the same opposition, in the same fashion.
Neville finally earned the last of 85 caps in 2007, with plenty of personal pride intact but little in the way of tangible success with his country. He later reflected on his England career and admitted it felt almost a "waste of time" on the whole.
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Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.com - Correct as of 19/06/2025