NEVILLE RETIRES

Former Manchester United and Everton player Phil Neville has retired from professional football. This comes after months of speculation surrounding the players next move. He had announced back in April that he would not be signing a new contract at Everton. He joins a whole host of footballing heroes to quit 'the beautiful game' this summer - they include the likes of Beckham, Scholes, Owen, Carragher, Muamba, Petrov and others. Neville chose to leave Everton after he recognised a drop in his form around the latter stages of 2012 - he only completed 5 full matches between Christmas and the end of the season.  However, it does not stop here for the 6-time Premier League medallist - the exciting yet scary prospect of football management appears to be just around the corner. He has first-hand experience of this from helping out with the England under 21 team last year, resulting in the current manager, Stuart Pearce, touting him to replace himself as manager in the not-too-distant future. Pearce went on to say: "He's got the right professional skills to be a very good coach" - and why ever not? Neville has been under the wings of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes for the entirety of his career - he must have picked up a fair few tips. Although he was frustrating to watch at times, Phil Neville has served Everton well - demonstrating quality leadership skills.Thank you Phil, and may you enjoy your retirement in which ever way you see fit.

Phil Neville has decided to end his 19 year footballing career.