Who is Gary Neville and could he become Greater Manchester Mayor?

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A campaign for the Mancunian former footballer to take his first political role has snowballed since Labour sources disclosed that Mr Burnham will need a "Gary Neville-like" successor to replace him.

Insiders believe the former Manchester United right-back is well-placed to be a candidate due to his instant name recognition and a history of supporting the Labour Party.

“If you’re Andy it’s better to have the promise of a big gun rather than popping some unknown council leader on the ballot as the mayoral candidate, then [the mayoralty] falling to Nigel Farage," the source told The i Paper.

"I think he has somebody in mind in the shape of Gary Neville. Whether or not the party members would respond to that I don’t know."

Here is what we know about Neville and his political situation.

Could Gary Neville become Mayor of Greater Manchester?

Gary Neville has not said if he will attempt to become the Mayor of Greater Manchester if the role opens up and has been contacted by LBC for a comment.

Already a household name for his time at Manchester United and as England's right back at two World Cups and three Uefa European Championships, the 51-year-old has now developed a large portfolio of interests.

After a failure as manager of Valencia, which resulted in him being sacked after just 16 games, he has reinvented himself as a much-liked football pundit for Sky Sports and his Overlap podcast.

But he has also become known for his business dealings, investing in property, and starting his own hospitality, hotel and academia imprints, mostly within the Manchester area.

He has also been a guest on the BBC entrepreneur show Dragon's Den and hosts the YouTube series Stick to Football alongside David Beckham.

“I didn’t want to only be known as a former Man United player and I didn't want to think that my days of success, achieving things, were over," he has said on his official website.

Neville does not have a section on his website endorsing his political views or expressing any desire to become a politician - yet he has become increasingly well-known and outspoken for his views on society.

He is known for being vocal on Twitter, as well, with his opinions - and was often critical of the Conservative Party during its time in government in the early 2020s.

He polarised public opinion when he stated that "angry middle-aged white men" are dividing the nation by raising Union flags on the back of the Manchester synagogue terror attack.

Neville said in a piece to camera: “I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we’re all being turned on each other. And the division that’s being created is absolutely disgusting. Mainly created by angry, middle-aged white men, who know exactly what they’re doing.”

His rant received a mixed response on both Nick Ferrari and James O'Brien's shows on LBC, while former footballer Stan Collymore criticised it, and England flags were soon seen draped around Neville's Manchester Hotel Football.

Neville is a member of the Labour Party and gave the clearest indication as to his viewpoint when he endorsed Sir Keir Starmer and Labour for the 2024 general election.

But could Neville make the transition into becoming a politician himself?

"He is already media-trained, permanently visible with a regional brand and is fluent in the language of public grievance," Matthew Bowles, senior policy researcher at the Prosperity Institute, told LBC.

"The old route into politics – local councils, years of internal advancement – matters less than it once did compared to name recognition and public profile."

Neville, in 2022, ruled out becoming an MP and told the BBC at the time that speaking at the party conference that year was more helpful to the party than standing for office.

"I'm able to communicate, I know what I want, I have got a business mind, I can manage people in respect of businesses," he said upon joining Labour.

"I can only imagine what you have to do there [Westminster] to survive and I don't play the game, so how can I get in? So, when I ask myself the question do you want to dip your toes in, I can't dip my toes in because I'm all or nothing. I go in and I'm going in."

Mr Bowles added: "None of this is to say a Neville mayoralty is imminent. He has repeatedly suggested that he is unsure about entering formal politics and ruled out becoming an MP, suggesting he would get eaten alive.

"But hesitation is not the same as impossibility."