Former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville has admitted that he is slightly 'worried' that the club's local rivals Manchester City are a "better" team.

The blue half of Manchester have grown into a Premier League force over the last few years following their title triumph in 2012.

While United have continuously dominated English football, this season under new manager David Moyes the Red Devils are currently 18 points off the pace.

"For about 20 years of my life they were irrelevant," the Manchester Evening News quotes Neville as saying. "Then they became a little bit annoying. Now they are actually better. It's a bit of a worry.

"My uncle is a City fan. We all know City fans, we all know United fans, and I have to say, that generally it's a huge positive to have two clubs of that stature for Manchester."

United are currently nine points behind City, who occupy the final Champions League spot in the table.