Gary Neville reveals the real reason Man City were so happy to let Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling go into the transfer window

GARY NEVILLE has claimed he was told a year ago why Manchester City were willing to allow Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to leave.

The attacking duo had made a significant contribution to the club’s success in recent years under Pep Guardiola.

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Sterling in particular was a big player for City, scoring more than 100 goals and winning 10 major trophies in his seven seasons.

Separately, the England star joined Chelsea for £50m after his contract expired.

Meanwhile, Jesus also went to a top-six rival and met up with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

City replaced the duo with Erling Haaland, who was brought to the Prem like a duck to water, and unknown youngster Julian Alaverz, who has already shown his potential for club and country.

The 22-year-old has scored seven goals in under 890 minutes in all competitions since joining in the summer.

The striker has since shone on the international stage, scoring four goals to help Argentina reach the World Cup final.

Alvarez’s form is such, he is well on his way to starting the showpiece against France.

And Neville believes he’s the exact reason they let Sterling and Jesus go.

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He told Sky Sports’ World Cup podcast: “I was told a year ago when City let Jesus and Sterling go – because I was quite surprised City let them both go at the same time – that this kid [Alvarez] was the reason.

“That’s what someone who’s pretty close to City told me, that he was the reason and they didn’t want to get in his way.”