League Two side Salford City have announced a takeover of the club including previous co-owner Gary Neville, David Beckham and nine other shareholders from various business sectors.
A statement on the club website said: “Salford City Football Club today announced that the club has been a new ownership group led by David Beckham and Gary Neville, together with US-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies who will both serve as Co-chairs of the Club Board.”
Previous shareholders Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville will no longer be shareholders but will remain involved with the club in a number of areas including commercial, recruitment and the club’s foundation
Rise through non-league
The club came to national attention in March 2014 when members of Manchester United’s famous ‘Class of 92’ bought the club while they were in the Northern Premier League Division One North, the eighth tier of English football.
Four promotions in five seasons followed and the club secured promotion to the EFL for the first time in their history in 2019 as they beat AFC Fylde 3-0 in the National League Promotion Final at Wembley.
Silverware soon followed as they beat holders Portsmouth in the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy Final at Wembley, which uniquely was played 12 months later and the day before the 2021 final behind closed doors.
Progress in the league has however stalled. Their best finish in League Two was seventh in 2022-23, but they were beaten in the Play-Off Semi Finals by local rivals Stockport County. This is the only time to date they have reached the fourth tier Play-Offs.
Who is on the new board?
The new shareholders come from a variety of sectors. These include Kelly, who is the founder of investing and financial services firm The Consello Group and Lord Davies, who served as Minister for Trade, Investment and Business from January 2009 to May 2010.
Also among the new shareholders are India’s leading sports technology company Dream Sports Group and Nick Woodhouse, the Executive Vice Chairman of Authentic Brands Group, whose website states they have retail footprint in more than 150 countries.
Consello will also be responsible for developing the club’s commercial strategy, both at home and abroad, looking to bring new global partners to the club. This will be led by Consello’s Chief Growth Officer Janey Whiteside, who has previously been Chief Commercial Officer and Walmart.
What will this mean for Salford City?
This season ended in disappointment for the Ammies as they missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the season following a 2-2 draw with Carlisle United, finishing in eighth- just one point behind Chesterfield.
As a result, the 2025-26 season will be Salford’s seventh in League Two and having narrowly missed out on the top seven this season manager Karl Robinson will no doubt be looking to go one better this time around.
Of course, any time a new owner comes into the club that will also raise questions over the future of the manager. However, that decision may be taken out of their hands, with Robinson linked with the vacant manager’s job at newly relegated League One side Cardiff City.
The club’s new shareholders will no doubt look at the enormous commercial growth enjoyed by Wrexham since their takeover by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, which has seen them secure massive global sponsorships as well as three successive promotions from the National League to the Championship.
