Gary Neville’s FIVE failed restaurants: How a string of eateries owned by the Man Utd star have closed their doors – as a Michelin-starred restaurant becomes the latest to close with £1million debts

Gary Neville captained one of Manchester United’s greatest sides and represented his country 85 times.

The 49-year-old is an outspoken commentator with a passion for business and politics and has invested in numerous projects since ending his two-decade football career in 2011.

The Sky Sports pundit has stints in everything from hotels and restaurants to real estate and digital marketing, which have earned him millions of pounds.

But Neville’s booming hospitality empire appears to have come to a dramatic halt, with the ex-Premier League star forced to close the doors of a fifth restaurant with £1million in debt.

The closure of The Man Behind The Curtain, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Leeds, is not the first time Neville has been forced to accept defeat and walk away from a restaurant.

MailOnline looks back at the five failed restaurants that Neville has had to close in recent years.

The man behind the curtain

The Man Behind the Curtain launched in 2014 and was run by Masterchef star Michael O’Hare, with Neville owning 50 percent.

The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in October 2015 and three AA rosettes in 2016 and attracted investment from Neville.

After opening, it gained a reputation for modern yet unique dishes, including olives wrapped in edible cellophane, ox cheek with salt and vinegar, and chocolate pudding and pork rinds.

But it closed its doors at the end of 2023 and O’Hare has since opened a new restaurant in town called Psycho Sandbar.

Now newly filed documents at Companies House have shown that Neville’s company owes Relentless Leisure £366,848.

The accounts for 2023 are late, but those for 2022 reported profits of £187,000 and reserves of £105,938, The Sun reported.

The rabbit in the moon

Neville and his former Man United teammate Ryan Giggs invested in The Rabbit in the Moon before it closed in 2017.

The Class of 92 duo teamed up with O’Hare again after appointing him Creative Director of GG Hospitality in 2016.

The aim was to run a modern Asian restaurant in Manchester, but it closed after a year.

The menu offered unique options including fried calf brains, crispy rabbit ears and an octopus hot dog.

The chic restaurant was located on the top two floors of Urbis, a six-storey building on Manchester’s Exchange Square.

The space-themed restaurant was launched in hopes of winning a Michelin star and closed in 2018 after GG Hospitality reported significant losses to shareholders.

It was called by one food critic the ‘craziest restaurant’ they had ever reviewed.

Cafe Football

GG Hospitality also struggled to make ends meet in 2019 and had to close two Cafe Football branches after six years.

The location was initially located in a huge space in the Westfield shopping center in Stratford, East London.

When it opened in 2013, customers were offered a selection of Fans’ Favorites, ranging from pie, mash and spirits to chili with steamed rice and sour cream.

Following its success, Neville and Giggs then decided to open a second venue in Manchester, but it closed in March 2019.

The two locations were both closed in early 2019 after GG Hospitality decided to shift focus to their hotel operations.

Marcel honestly revealed at the time: ‘They were decisions I made while Ryan was coaching… but we all learn from them, don’t we?’

A third location is still open in Singapore, but operates through a different company.

A smaller version of Cafe Football has opened in Neville’s Hotel Football, which overlooks Manchester United’s stadium, Old Trafford.

The Beursgrill

The restaurant in Gary Neville’s Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester closed just four months after opening its doors.

The Stock Market Grill replaced celebrity chef Tom Kerridge’s Bull and Bear restaurant.

But on July 3, it released a statement saying it had decided to “close the doors of Stock Market Grill effective immediately.” The restaurant was not run by Neville, but by the people who own the hotel’s cocktail bar, Sterling.

A statement from the hotel at the time read: ‘We have made the decision to close the doors of Stock Market Grill from July 3.

“We want to focus on the hotel’s premium cocktail bar, Sterling, in the Vault.

“However, the restaurant will continue to serve breakfast and in-room dining to all overnight guests.”