David Beckham and Gary Neville lead new Salford City FC takeover

It’s a brand new dawn for the Ammies, as United legends David Beckham and Gary Neville take control at Salford City FC.

They form part of a consortium, which includes US businessman Declan Kelly alongside Lord Mervyn Davies, who will also serve as co-chairs for the League Two Club.

It has been reported today that the group have raised between $15-20m as a war-chest to propel them to the championship within five years.

Previously, Beckham and Neville had been involved along with other stars of Class of ’92 : Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville, but it now appears their shares have been bought out.

Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville will continue to contribute to the next step of this journey with roles in the club across technical, football, commercial, recruitment and the Salford City Football Club Foundation.

What have David Beckham and Gary Neville said on the Salford City FC takeover?

Posting to social media earlier, David Beckham said: “Salford played such an important role in my life growing up…

“It’s where I trained with United alongside my best mates every day, it’s where I bought my first house and where Victoria and I lived.

“I’m so proud to be part of a new ownership group alongside my mate Gary Neville as we begin the next chapter of Salford’s journey.

“Football is at the heart of this community, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Ammies.”

Gary Neville posted on his instagram: “It’s just over ten years ago now when we embarked on this journey with Salford City. What a special journey it has been.

“I think back to conversations had on a train ten years ago about investing in a football club, deciding which to invest in.

“We chose a special club that was close to our hearts, it had looked after us. The people and place looked after us too.

“What we’ve done in ten years has been incredible, I’ve enjoyed it so much I can’t thank Peter Lim enough for investing in us and mentoring us.

“Thank you to the Class of ’92 who have contributed so much to our success. But now the next chapter begins.

“We’ve bought together a new group of shareholders, and have been having so many conversations about how to take the club forward, and what the next step looks like.

“One thing that is critical – it has to be authentic, something that means something to us, and the fans. We want the club to be in good hands for the upcoming years.

“When you think about the next chapter, football must come first at every club. Success on the pitch is critical to us.

“Our facilities, stadium and training ground must all improve. We must become sustainable, grow revenues, while making sure we look after our fans and make games accessible for everyone.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who has contributed in the last ten years, it has been a special time, and to those moving forward with us, we look forward to delivering success on the pitch.”

A bold ambition for Salford City FC

There were big moves planned from the start in 2014, when the Class of 92′ got involved at the club.

They quickly and confidently took the club from the Northern Premier League North and swiftly got them to League Two, with four promotions in five years.

And they weren’t a million miles of another promotion this year – having narrowly missed out on the promotion play offs this season by one point under the stewardship of Karl Robinson.

They have, however plateaued slightly in League Two.

Speaking back in 2014 to the Manchester Evening News, United legend Paul Scholes set the stall out for the scope of their ambition.

He said: “I know it’s a long way off, but the target has to be getting to the Premier League at some point.”

He sited Bournemouth as a great example for Salford, who survive in the Premier League with 12,000 fans.

Will Salford City FC do a Wrexham?

Speaking to the Atlantic, Becks said: ‘We’ve all been inspired by what Ryan Reynolds has been doing at Wrexham and I’m not saying this is why we’re doing it because it’s not.

What did the club say about the takeover?

A Statement on Salford City FC’s website today said: “The acquisition has been uniquely structured, through a members club made up of nine shareholders including Dream Sports Group (India’s leading sports technology company), Colin Ryan (Founder, Clipper Street Capital), Frank Ryan (Global Co-Chair, Global Co-CEO, and Americas Chair, DLA Piper), Nick Woodhouse (Executive Vice Chairman, Authentic Brands Group), and Shravin Mittal (Founder of Unbound).

“Consello, one of the world’s leading advisory and investing firms, founded and run by Declan Kelly, will work alongside Salford City to develop a new commercial strategy for the Club. This will be under the leadership of Janey Whiteside, Chief Growth Officer of Consello and former Chief Commercial Officer at Walmart. SCFC is looking forward to bringing on a series of commercial partners across the U.K., U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Declan Kelly and Mervyn Davies said in a joint statement: “We have been close friends and partners for more than a decade and we look forward to partnering with David, Gary, this phenomenal new ownership group, the Class of ’92 and everyone at SCFC to take this project to the next level and hopefully bring more success to Salford City’s wonderful fan base, players and everyone associated with the Club.”

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