Chelsea and Spain star Marc Cucurella hits back at former Man Utd defender Gary Neville as Euro 2024 prediction backfires

Chelsea's Marc Cucurella has hit back at Gary Neville in cold fashion after the former Manchester United defender and now TV pundit claimed the defender was the key reason why Spain could not win the European Championship at the start of the tournament.

La Roja inflicted a 2-1 defeat on England in the final on Sunday, thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal's dramatic late winner, dashing hopes that Gareth Southgate's Three Lions would finally end their 58-year wait for major silverware.

Instead, it was Spain who claimed their fourth European Championship title overall and first since 2012, with players celebrating long into the night after victory in Berlin.

However, Blues defender Cucurella took the time to post a message on his Instagram account directed at Neville, after the former England defender had criticized him earlier in the tournament, suggesting that he could cost Spain a chance of becoming champions.

Neville said of Cucurella live on ITV in the U.K.: "He’s not been convincing at Chelsea, he’s played a few games towards the end of the season, he’s aggressive, he’s tenacious, he’s a busy little full-back.

"That price tag still, to be fair, astounds everybody I think to this day. The Spanish defence has got a lot of experience now but there’s something just missing from Spain that makes you feel like they’re going to go all the way. And I have to say, him [Cucurella] being at left-back probably is another example of why we think that."

Shortly after the final whistle on Sunday night, with the gold medal gleaming around his neck, Cucurella got his sweet revenge. Responding to the above quote from Neville, the Spain left-back said: "We went all the way Gary. Thanks for your support."

Cucurella's girlfriend, Claudia Rodriguez, joined in the banter as well. She shared a photo on Instagram of Cucurella celebrating with the trophy, captioning it: "How was your night, @gneville2?"

Not many predicted that Cucurella would be putting in such stellar performances as Spain's starting left-back at Euro 2024, and for many, he will be in their team of the tournament.

The Chelsea left-back has faced no shortage of criticism since his £55 million move from Brighton, but he has shown just how good he can be on both ends of the pitch for La Roja.