Gary Neville has called on football to use its riches to help the NHS and the wider community in the fight against coronavirus.
Manchester United legend Neville has already opened up the hotels he co-owns with Ryan Giggs to NHS staff working to contain the outbreak of the deadly disease.
And now he has urged football’s authorities and the Premier League’s mega-rich to spread the wealth in a bid to help society recover from Covid-19.
Neville also wants those at the top of the game to put their hands in their pockets to help clubs further own the pyramid who are in danger of going out of business with no matchday revenue currently coming in.
Football in the UK is currently suspended until April 30 at the earliest – although it does not look likely that matches will be possible until around June.
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“I am hoping the League Managers Association, PFA, FA, Premier League and EFL are behind the scenes coming up with something,” Neville told the Daily Mail.
“Obviously they have done in terms of the protection of health of the fans and players. That’s number one.
“Number two is that they can now come up with something that protects the business of football so that the clubs don’t go to the wall and that fans have a club to watch at the end of this.
“But after that I am hoping football can do something very big from a community basis on a nationwide scale — in terms of how they can contribute in this time.
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“Whether that’s individually as players or staff or clubs, we know there have been some great gestures already. But I do think something else has to come.
“Football has to look outwards. You can’t just look inwards at a time like this. Football has to do something quite spectacular, I think, so that it sets the tone for the rest of the country. That is what football needs to be doing and I am sure it is doing.”
Asked what that might entail, former United and England right-back Neville said: “I am conscious of creating ideas that put pressure on football or on players. I don’t want to do that.
“But ultimately you can imagine the amount of money that could be awash in football that could potentially be diverted at this time towards more essential services.
“I was critical of the Premier League days ago when I thought they were slow to shut down. There was so much global intelligence around.
“But I think now the organisations within football will do the right thing and make bold decisions that won’t only benefit football but also communities outside the game.”
