Gary Neville showed his true colours after Wayne Rooney smashed teammate's phone
Gary Neville played peacemaker after Wayne Rooney lost the plot wth Manchester United team-mate Ravel Morrison over a mobile phone that had been taken off charge
Gary Neville generously bought Ravel Morrison a new phone after Wayne Rooney smashed his old one to bits. During the trio's time together at Manchester United, Rooney mistakenly thought Morrison, then a promising youngster, had taken his mobile off charge and plugged in his own.
It resulted in the United and England legend, who had arrived on the scene with Neville, launching the phone down a corridor while Morrison was playing in an under-18s match. While Rooney has owned up to breaking the mobile, it was Neville who bought a replacement.
Morrison, 32, who now plays for UAE side Precision, recalled the incident during an appearance on the Undr The Cosh podcast. He said: 'I gave Rio [Ferdinand] my phone to put on charge. And they thought I went in the changing room, took Wazza's off charge and just put mine on.
'I've come in and the phone's down the corridor! But I gave it Rio to put on charge. Then Gary Neville ended up getting me a new phone because he thought it was me who went in there and took it off, which is kind of cheeky - I understand that - but it wasn't me.'
Addressing the incident in 2020, Rooney told United's official podcast: 'I remember I smashed his phone up at one point. He came into the first-team dressing room when he was in the reserves and my phone was on charge.
'He took it off and put his on. I remember it was one of the old Blackberries which has the email on the front. I thought it was one of the other lads so, when I saw it was one of the reserves, I just smashed the phone up.'
Upon hearing Rooney's version of events, Morrison took to X (then Twitter) to explain: 'I gave him [Ferdinand] my phone.. 90 minutes later.. Phone smashed to tiny pieces [laughing face emoji].'
Morrison added: '@WayneRooney it's Rio's fault [laughing face]'. He concluded the post by suggesting: 'I'm sure @GNev2 play some part [staring eyes emoji].'
In the Undr The Cosh interview, Morrison went on to express his respect for Neville, who had attempted to guide him during a career which has never lived up to its early potential.
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'I like him, I think he's a character,' said Morrison, who left United for West Ham in 2012 before spells at various clubs, including Lazio, Mexican side Atlas, Derby County and DC United, playing under Rooney at the latter two.
'I think he's top. I see him a lot in Manchester when I'm back home. He's just prodding the streets everywhere. He's a proper good guy, I've got a lot of time for him. He's done a lot [given advice], him and Rio.'
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