Gary Neville reveals he led 'double life' to avoid detection from Sir Alex Ferguson's ring of Man Utd spies

Manchester United legend Neville spent 19 years at Old Trafford having come up through the youth ranks of the Red Devils, he played under one coach his entire club career, Ferguson and he has now revealed that he had to learn architecture on his own away from Sir Alex's 'spies'. The full-back started his hobby at the age of 21 after buying a barn in Bolton and developing it from 'rubble' with the help of his former youth team colleague, Paul Devine.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Neville said: "I used to bring architect's drawings with me. You have two hours on the way home on the plane. You can't sleep. You're wired. I'd make sure no one was sat next to me and I'd get them out. While Teddy and Dwight and that lot were playing cards, I’d be looking at drawings.

"I made loads of mistakes, spent too much money, changed designs all the time. But from rubble, we made it into this house and I was obsessed. I’ve still got three or four. My mum lives in one.

"For 10 to 12 years, I had this almost like a double life. I did it under the radar, purely because I knew that it would be deemed as a distraction. Under Sir Alex, distraction was absolutely illegal, you know that. But I knew that my football career would come to an end, and I knew that I had to plan for it, I knew that I had to do something different and I loved it. The meetings, the thrill of the interior design, the selling part of it, the finding the land, the planning."

Neville went public with his architectural 'second life' after his retirement in 2011 as he shifted his business to Manchester from Bolton. The soon-to-turn 50-year-old added: "I had this thing at 36 that the second half of my life had to be better than my first. I knew that was going to be near-impossible but I actually love my post-football career, I think even more because there was an element of playing at United which was amazing, the best thing in the world, and some of the thrills and highs were unbelievable.

"But under Sir Alex, it was a tough environment in that the standards were hugely high, which meant that you had to live at that level every single day. I've got more of a consistency. You maybe lose those huge highs, but you also lose those big lows that you have, like losing a Champions League semi-final and all of a sudden the world feels like it's coming on top of you."

While not running his property operation, Neville is the nation’s most recognisable and forthright pundit, he is also known for his tight schedule and his 'busy' life despite having retired from the sport.

Neville said: "I'll review all the news, sports news mainly, but news as well," he says. "All your papers. I need to keep across that. I'll clear my emails. I'll have a coffee.

"I'll go to the gym at six, finish at 6.50, walk back home at seven. And then I'll spend the hour with the kids when they're getting ready for school. I'll be in the office at eight and I’ll work through to about six o'clock. That's it.

"My phone will go away for an hour and a half while I'm having tea. I'll watch the game that night. Bed at half nine, quarter to 10. I'm lucky, I can be asleep within five minutes. My whole life was routine and repetitive. Even now, I need structure. I look at my calendar four or five weeks in advance."