Man United great Gary Neville gives honest comparison of Rangers and Celtic atmospheres

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Published on:

07 Feb 2024, 3:10 pm

Gary Neville says the best atmosphere he has ever experienced as a Manchester United player was against Rangers at Ibrox.

Speaking on The Overlap podcast [7 February], Neville said he found the noise levels inside the ground "staggering".

The former England international played in United's 1-0 win at Ibrox in October 2003 in the Champions League group stage.

"The best atmosphere I have ever seen in my life was at Ibrox," Neville said. "Just before the game was starting I thought 'what the f*** is this?'

"Celtic and Galatasaray were loud, but for the first couple of minutes, I had never seen noise like that [at Ibrox] in my life. Staggering."

Fellow former Man United player Keane, who ended his career at Celtic, interjected with: "Celtic Park has a better atmosphere".

Ibrox atmosphere better than Celtic Park

This is a debate that is covered pretty much as often as the 'Should Rangers and Celtic play in the English Premier League?' one.

Ultimately, Neville is a neutral in this instance and has played at both grounds in the same competition, so his opinion counts more than Keane's.

Rangers fans take pride in making the ground one of the loudest and most hostile anywhere on the continent.

Unfortunately, there has been few memorable Champions League nights under the lights in recent times.

Ibrox has experienced some magical European nights in recent times, most notably the run to the Europa League final in 2022

However, the Europa League has produced some magical moments, not least during that run to the final in 2022.

And supporters do not have to wait much longer for the return of European football at Ibrox, with the Europa League knockouts fast approaching.

Let's just ensure the noise levels are as loud as that match against United a couple of decades ago.

In other Rangers news, a journalist has shared a possible turning point in the Scottish Premiership title race.

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