Money moves from the class of 92
David Beckham and Gary Neville have completed the takeover of an EFL club as part of a fresh consortium seeking to inject money into the club.
David Ornstein reported today that Beckham and Neville led a group of investors to buy out the rest of the Class of 92 at Salford City Football Club.
The pair were already part-owners of the Greater Manchester club, however, have furthered their ambitions by joining up with a part-American consortium in an effort to take the club to the next level.
Salford, who are currently in League Two, have seen a meteoric rise since the takeover of the United legends back in 2014, however, have failed to make it past League Two, stumbling around the play-offs on multiple occasions.
The project is often seen as a predecessor to the likes of Wrexham who have seen big investment carry them up the leagues to greater success than Salford.
The remaining Class of 92, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes have all relinquished their stakes in the club, but will continue to occupy various positions at Moor Lane.
The uptake of a shares comes after former majority shareholder Peter Lim left the club in 2024.
Since then, Beckham and Neville have been looking for partners to invest in the club to help them finally pass the League Two road block.
Options that were considered included a multi-club model and a direct owner, but these proved to not feel “authentic”.
Ultimately, the pair have chosen to team up with Declan Kelly, founder of U.S.-based advisory firm Consello, and Lord Mervyn Davies, chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association.
They will co-chair Salford’s board of directors.
Other investors include: Frank Ryan (Co-chair, co-CEO, Americas Chair, DLA Piper), Shravin Mittal (founder of Unbound and managing director of Bharti Global Ltd), Nick Woodhouse (executive vice chairman, Authentic Brands Group), Colin Ryan (chief strategy and corporate development officer, Qualcomm) and Dream Sports Group (Indian sports technology company).
The consortium are believed to have raised up to £15m to boost the clubs infrastructure over the next five years with each member holding a 5 per cent or 10 per cent stake, totalling at 80 per cent.
The remaining 20 per cent has been set aside for aditional partners.
However, Neville and Beckham are set to be involved deeper in the football side of operations than their partners.
Talking to The Athletic, Beckham said: “I will be over every big decision that’s made and every little decision that’s made.
“That’s what my commitment is to Gary. It’s what my commitment is to the club.”
