Robbie Fowler isn't having it as he accuses Gary Neville of making 'disrespectful' comment

Gary Neville and Robbie Fowler were huge rivals when Manchester United played Liverpool, and it appears there is still some needle between the two ex-England internationals

Robbie Fowler has hit out at Gary Neville, who claimed the former Liverpool forward would have been better if he played for Manchester United. Fowler, 49, is the Reds' seventh highest goalscorer in history and is regarded as being one of the finest strikers to ever lead the Liverpool frontline.

Yet, Neville recently claimed he would have been better served turning out at Old Trafford instead of Anfield. In the year 2000, Fowler was heavily linked with a then club-record £15million move to Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Fowler would stay for another campaign, before moving to Leeds United in 2001. After Neville recently claimed the ex-Liverpool hit-man would have been a better player at Old Trafford, Fowler hit out at the now Sky Sports pundit.

Speaking on The Overlap, Neville said: "Can I make a controversial statement? Might not even be controversial. Robbie Fowler could have been England's greatest ever goalscorer, if he hadn't have grown up in that Liverpool team."

Neville also stated Fowler's trophy collection would have been bigger if he was part of the 'Class of 92' team instead of the Reds development system. Taking issue with the comment, Fowler told talkSPORT: "I mean, that's disrespectful.

"In fact, we were probably close to matching Manchester United. Certainly when I think of maybe '96, that year we were brilliant, and possibly were better than Man United.

"We were probably inconsistent against so-called weaker teams, Manchester United used to beat them whereas we maybe struggled to win those games."

Fowler hammered 183 goals in 369 games across two spells at Anfield and is considered to be one of the best academy graduates in the club history.

He was also known for being part of a Liverpool cohort known as "The Spice Boys" which derived from rumours he was dating Spice Girls pop star Emma Bunton.

As a result Fowler's lifestyle away from the pitch, as well as that of Jamie Redknapp and Steve McManaman, was constantly reported in the press.

Looking back on their reputation, Fowler added: "I know people can bring whatever they want into that, again it's that conversation with 'The Spice Boys', you never took it seriously.

"But I think it's disrespectful to the players because I played with great players as well... you are like a product of your environment. I know Manchester United, their environment was maybe changing in terms of the players looking after themselves a little bit better, but they still went out. We know that because we used to bump into them."

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Despite being such a pivotal player for Liverpool, Fowler only earned 26 international caps for England.

Out of his appearances for the Three Lions, 16 came in international friendlies, while only three came in the European Championship or the World Cup.

At the time, Fowler was competing with the likes of Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand and others. He only managed to find the net on seven occasions in an England shirt.