Former soccer players David Beckham and Gary Neville have completed a “takeover” of the EFL League Two club Salford City as “part of a fresh consortium that has committed to injecting significant funds,” according to David Ornstein of THE ATHLETIC. Beckham and Neville were already part-owners of the club with other former Premier League club Manchester United teammates. Since the departure of majority shareholder Peter Lim in 2024, Beckham and Neville have “spent months seeking investment partners who they believe give Salford the best chance to succeed on and off the pitch.” Beckham and Neville “ultimately decided to join forces” with Consello founder Declan Kelly and LTA Chair Lord Mervyn Davies. They will co-chair Salford’s BOD. Other members of the new Salford ownership group include: Frank Ryan (co-Chair, co-CEO, Americas Chair, DLA Piper), Shravin Mittal (founder of Unbound), Nick Woodhouse (Exec Vice Chair, Authentic Brands Group), Colin Ryan (founder, Clipper Street Capital), and Dream Sports Group. The collective are “believed to have raised” around $15-20M to “boost Salford’s sporting and infrastructural ambitions over the next five years.” Inside that timeframe they are “targeting promotion” to the EFL Championship. Each member will “hold a 5 per cent or 10 per cent stake,” totaling at 80%. The remaining 20% has been “earmarked for additional partners.” Ornstein: “The progress of Wrexham and Birmingham City under their own big-name backers serve as examples of what it is possible to achieve” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/8).
SHUFFLING PIECES: BBC.com’s Jay Freeman reported Beckham and Neville’s former ManU teammates Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville are “no longer shareholders as part of the new ownership group,” which includes Lord Davies and Kelly. The quartet will “remain involved with the club in roles ‘across technical, football, commercial, recruitment and the SCFC foundation’” (BBC.com, 5/8). In Manchester, Josh Holland noted “none of the new faces will have day-to-day involvement at Moor Lane” with a chief exec “expected to be appointed to oversee matters.” Salford have “enjoyed a fine rise through the English football pyramid,” featuring four promotions in five years. However, since reaching the EFL in 2019, they have “stagnated” and failed to reach the League Two play-offs this season (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, 5/8).
