Gary Neville forced to take himself off plane after fearing he’d die from heart attack

Gary Neville has opened up about a terrifying experience where he believed he was having a heart attack on a plane - which turned out to be a presumed anxiety attack due to overwork.

Since retiring from his illustrious playing career at Manchester United and England, the 49-year-old has thrown himself into a successful broadcasting role with Sky Sports, where he's been a staple since 2011, except for a brief period managing Valencia in La Liga.

Neville is also known for his entrepreneurial spirit, having developed Hotel Football near Old Trafford, initiated University Academy 92, and invested in Salford City. His incredible work ethic is often praised by those who know him well.

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However, Neville shared with Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, alongside his wife Emma, how his relentless drive almost had dire consequences. He recounted the incident: "I knew there was something wrong. I've never experienced anxiety in my life, reports the Mirror.

"I didn't even know what it was. But I actually stopped a plane coming back from America. I was flying back from Miami and I was sat on the front of this plane and I knew that I'd obviously pushed myself over the previous couple of months.

"And I was literally thinking 'I'm going to have a heart attack'. I felt like I was literally going to die. I said to the steward 'I'm going to have to get off'. I stopped the plane, got off and stayed in America for an extra night, my bag got taken off the plane and I thought 'this is not right, you need to calm down a little bit'