Gary Neville recounts terrifying moment on a plane when he feared he was 'going to have a heart attack' as Man United legend opens up about his hectic work schedule

Gary Neville announced that he had hastily left a plane for fear of a life-threatening heart attack.

The Manchester United legend is omnipresent in today's football media landscape with his appearances on Sky Sports and his successful podcast 'Stick to Football'.

The 49-year-old also has an extensive business portfolio which includes Hotel Football outside Old Trafford, University Academy 92 and League Two club Salford City.

Neville said in a 2022 interview on The Diary of a CEO podcast that he struggles to take breaks in his relentless schedule. And now he's talked about a frightening incident – presumably a panic attack – that made him change the way he works.

“I knew something was wrong,” he said on Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast with his wife Emma. “I'd never had anxiety in my life. I didn't even know what it was.”

The former Man United star appeared with his wife Emma on Fearne Cotton's Happy Hour podcast

“But I actually stopped a plane on the way back from America. I was flying back from Miami and I was sitting at the front of the plane and I knew that I had obviously put in a lot of effort over the last few months.

“And I literally thought, 'I'm going to have a heart attack.' I felt like I was literally dying. I said to the steward, 'I need to get off.' I stopped the plane, got off and stayed in America for another night, my luggage was taken off the plane and I thought, 'This is not right, you need to calm down a bit,' and I think that's what I've done ever since.”

The former defender was mocked by fans for describing holidays as a “mini-retirement” in his interview with fellow Dragon's Den host Steven Bartlett.

“But you can afford mini-retirements during the year and that's what I've tried. I don't do it very well,” he said. “This weekend, for example, I'm going to Spain from Friday to Monday morning. It's like a mini-retirement.”

A confused Bartlett laughed: “It’s a weekend…”

In addition to the incident on the plane, Neville recounted another episode that actually inspired him to change his mindset about leisure time.

“I'm not good at it at all and I think the people around me, including Emma, ​​regularly tell me that I need to relax and calm down,” he continued. “Two or three years ago I had a little incident, basically it was like a seizure.”

“I had a soccer game and did some tests and they just said, 'I need to calm down a bit and do other things.' And that's how I came up with the idea of ​​'mini retirements,' weekend trips.”

Neville was mocked by fans online after an old clip of the Manchester United legend resurfaced in which he claimed he was enjoying “mini retirements”

Neville is a constant presence on Sky Sports TV in the UK due to his role as a commentator and pundit.

Fortunately for the Neville family, the former Red Devils star insisted he has continued to refine his approach to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

He added: “So I know that on October 14th – we just had our three-week break, last week I was filming, so it was the first week after the summer, and I look forward to October 14th when I know we're going away for three or four days. So I'm always thinking about the next six weeks.”