Gary Neville has revealed David Luiz's response to his infamous 2011 comment that the former Chelsea defender appeared like he was 'being controlled by a 10-year-old on a PlayStation'.
The former Manchester United right back delivered the damning indictment of Luiz after Chelsea had lost to Liverpool in the 2011-12 season, in an ill-disciplined display by the Brazilian who was still struggling to find his feet in west London.
'How we say things, we have to change how we do it (regarding) the responsibility of words and what damage they can do,' Neville told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet.
'I said that line about how David Luiz looked like he was being controlled by a 10-year-old on a PlayStation in the crowd (in 2011). I at the time thought it was a great line, everybody thought it was a great line.'
Luiz, who joined Chelsea in January 2011, endured a challenging first three years at Stamford Bridge, marked by rash decisions and occasional mistakes. However, after his move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2014, he returned to Chelsea in 2016 for a significantly more successful second spell.
And it appears another comment made by Neville about Luiz after a game a few years later was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the Chelsea defender reached out to the pundit.
Neville said: 'He actually direct messaged me four or five years later. I didn't repeat the line but I said something like "there he goes again" and he messaged me (after) which had an impact on me because he said "here you go again my friend". I thought, he's a human being, that's stuck with him.'
Explaining why he made the comment in the first place, Neville said: 'I'm trying to think of an analogy of someone at the time. We think about back fours used to be very solid.
'We didn't really see defenders charging out - it was more of an international, Brazilian, Argentian, Uruguayan, maybe sometimes southern European (style of play).
'Laurent Blanc when he came to United, he used to do that (driving run), and it would catch you by surprise. You try and do it with a bit of humour, but the impact that would have had on him (Luiz).'
Neville’s Overlap co-host, Roy Keane, appeared reluctant to place too much blame on his former teammate. The Irishman responded, saying, 'But pundits are entitled to make a mistake.
'As pundits we do have to be careful but we can't become robots either. Also we're emotional too when we're watching games. I'd hate to be sat there as a pundit (emotionless).
'I was critical of Harry Maguire and I apologised to him. As pundits if we do cross a line and we are affecting a player if we've gone overboard, then you do apologise.
'On a matchday we do sometimes get carried away and frustrated with a player. It doesn't mean I don't think he's a good lad.'
Upon Luiz's return to Chelsea, he quickly became an integral part of the squad which lifted the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season, as well as the FA Cup in 2018 and the Europa League in 2019.
He sealed a £50million move to Arsenal following that final trophy at Stamford Bridge, before spells at Flamengo, Fortaleza and now Cypriot First Division side Pafos.