Neville reminds Ferdinand he once called Arsenal's Saliba a 'waste of money'

Gary Neville put former Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand on the spot by recalling his early dismissal of William Saliba — the same player Neville had compared to a young Ferdinand just months later.

The awkward exchange was rooted in Saliba’s difficult start at Arsenal. The Frenchman joined the Gunners as a teenager but spent three years out on loan before making his Premier League debut at the start of the 2022/23 season. That debut came in a win at Crystal Palace, and Neville was immediately struck by the 21-year-old’s composure. “I was massively impressed by him. He reminded me of a young Rio Ferdinand,” Neville said after the match. “He’s such a young defender at 21.”

Ferdinand, however, was not ready to accept the flattery on Saliba’s behalf. “How old is he? How many Premier League games has he played? How many Premier League games had I played at that point?” he responded on his YouTube channel. “I broke the British transfer record at that time and people are drawing comparisons? It’s a madness! Give the boy time!”

The pushback was also coloured by Ferdinand’s earlier scepticism. In January 2021, when Arsenal loaned Saliba to Nice after he had seen no first-team action beyond a bench appearance in the Community Shield, Ferdinand was blunt. “Saliba, what’s happened with him? It’s a waste of money it seems at the minute. I don’t know what’s happened.”

Those words look considerably different now. Saliba has made 50 or more appearances in each of the last three seasons, playing a central role in transforming Mikel Arteta’s side from also-rans into title contenders and, this season, Premier League champions — ending the club’s 22-year wait for the title. He also signed a new contract in September, keeping him at Arsenal until 2030, and his market value has risen far beyond the £27 million the club originally paid for him.

The episode is a reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift in football — and how a throwaway verdict on a teenager can age badly when that teenager turns into one of the best defenders in England.