"You are being fu***ng unfair" - Gary Neville reveals Sir Alex Ferguson chided him for criticizing Manchester United superstar

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has talked about the time when Sir Alex Ferguson rebuked him for criticizing David De Gea on air.

The former United captain was on commentary duty when he criticized the Spanish custodian's performance in his debut season under Ferguson. The words did not go down well with the former Red Devils' boss.

Speaking on The Overlap, Neville has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson rebuked him shortly after De Gea turned the situation around.

"Sir Alex rang me once on my comments on David De Gea. Once," the Englishman said. "It was in his (De Gea's) second season of my punditry, so he let the first season go. Do you remember, his first season was a massive struggle, wasn't it? But in the second season, he started to improve, to the point he became one of the best goalkeepers in the world."

Neville added:

"Sir Alex rang me and said 'I got it last year, but I think you are being fu***ng unfair'."

Gary Neville went on to say he didn't back down under pressure from his former boss.

It is worth noting that David De Gea has been one of Manchester United's standout performers in each of the last few years. In fact, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that he's one of the best goalkeepers to wear the club's jersey.

The Spaniard conceded 47 goals in 38 games and managed only 15 shutouts. De Gea improved drastically over the next few years to become one of the best goalkeepers not just in the Premier League but across the world.

Since switching to Old Trafford in 2011, the Spaniard has made 490 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions, recording 165 clean sheets to his name.

The Spaniard is still going strong for Manchester United.

Can Manchester United build on the momentum after Liverpool victory

The Red Devils made a poor start to the campaign with defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1) and Brenford (4-0). However, they redeemed their poor start with a standout victory against arch-nemesis Liverpool (2-1) at Old Trafford on Monday, August 22. They take on Southampton next, later today.