Sunday Times of Malta apologises to Gary Neville

Neville is the club captain of Manchester United

A Maltese newspaper has issued an apology to Gary Neville after misquoting the Manchester United defender in his own column.

In a piece about striker Wayne Rooney, Neville was quoted as saying: "The best outcome was reached for all parties, except perhaps Manchester City."

The Sunday Times of Malta newspaper accepted the last four words of the quote were added by a journalist.

Rooney had said he wanted to leave Old Trafford but then signed a new deal.

The paper said: "We apologise unreservedly to Mr Neville."

A statement issued by editor Steve Mallia read: "With reference to Gary Neville's column in the Sunday Times of Malta of 24 October, the newspaper would like to clarify the following: At no point did Gary Neville state the phrase, 'Except perhaps Manchester City'.

"These words were added by the journalist who worked on the column with Mr Neville and were never intended to appear in the printed version of the article. Mr Neville did not utter these words, nor did he allude to Manchester City in any way.

"We apologise unreservedly to Mr Neville for the error and regret the considerable inconvenience it has caused him."