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Gary Neville says the FA would regret selling Wembley Stadium

Neville has proposed a levy on agents' fees or taking a small percentage of Premier League clubs' prize money in order to help fund grassroots football

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Sky Sports football expert Gary Neville has told a House of Commons Select Committee he enjoyed playing at Wembley but has no emotional attachment to it

Gary Neville has told a House of Commons Select Committee he has no emotional attachment to Wembley but feels selling the stadium could prove to be a "short-term plan we'll regret forever".

Shahid Khan, owner of Fulham and NFL side Jacksonville Jaguars, made an initial £600m offer to buy Wembley from the FA in April.

The proposed deal would also allow the FA to retain a share of the hospitality income from the stadium to bring the total deal closer to £1billion, according to Khan, in order to help fund grassroots football.

The FA has, however, claimed the deal would enable it to invest an extra £70m a year and a total of more than £2billion over the next 20 years.

Regardless of the exact sums that could be raised, the figures mentioned have led to debate among football fans about whether England need a permanent national stadium to play at or whether it would be better to cash in on Wembley and use the funds raised to improve the game at grassroots level.

Gary Neville during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on March 4, 2018 in Manchester, England.
Image: Neville believes the FA does not need to sell Wembley in order to fund grassroots football

"I despair at the thought that the FA board and management are sitting there and thinking that they have to sell Wembley to fund grassroots football," Sky Sports football expert Neville told a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee hearing.

"They are talking about an extra £70m a year for 20 years - that's a pittance in football, it's a pittance in government, it's the price of a full-back.

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"The FA is working with their hands tied behind their backs. The government must intervene so we can protect grassroots football and explore some creative, innovative ways of doing this properly. Selling Wembley is the answer now but what's next, St George's Park?

Shahid Khan during the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Image: Shahid Khan has put forward a proposal to the FA to buy Wembley Stadium

"Instinctively I would just worry about a multibillionaire knocking on my door and making an offer - what does he know that I don't? I feel a bit uncomfortable about that.

"The FA will have paid off the Wembley debt in a few years [by 2024]. I think we could look back on this deal in 30 years' time and wonder what we've done."

The former Manchester United and England defender also said he had no great emotional attachment to England playing at Wembley and admitted he enjoyed playing international matches 'on the road' with England when Wembley was being built.

"If I was [speaking] as the ex-player Gary Neville, I enjoyed travelling around the grounds. I enjoyed playing in Sunderland or at Old Trafford, and I was actually an advocate of it," he added.

"In terms of the home of Wembley, I am not emotional about it. My feelings on Wembley are not related to my own personal feelings as a football player.

"I do like Wembley and I believe it has a special place. When an England international game takes place at Wembley, it feels like a special moment for the opposition to play at Wembley because it has got a great reputation around the world.

"But I am not emotional about Wembley in the sense 'it is ours and we must keep it' in the ownership sense.

"It's more related to the fact we have to sell it, or feel we have to sell it, in order to fund grassroots football."

An aerial view of Wembley Stadium, London.

Instead, Neville has proposed imposing a levy on agents' fees, or reclaiming some of the prize money currently received by Premier League clubs, in order to secure the extra £70m per year in funds the FA claims selling Wembley will raise.

"Place a levy on agents' fees - that money is disappearing out of the game - there's your extra £70m," he said. "Don't sell Wembley. Whatever you do, don't sell Wembley when you can just place a levy on agents' fees.

"The bottom Premier League club receives £100m. What about if they receive £96.5m and the top club receive £146.5m? Each club receives £3.5m less and we get the £70m that way."

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