David Beckham and Gary Neville could have say on Bristol Rovers' League Two promotion chances

One of Bristol Rovers’ soon-to-be League Two rivals are set for a high-profile takeoverSport

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

12:05, 08 May 2025

Manchester United legends David Beckham and Gary Neville(Image: Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images)

Although Bristol Rovers don’t yet know the full list of teams they will be playing against next season in League Two with the play-offs yet to conclude, already it looks as though one of their soon-to-be rivals will be getting a notable financial boost in the form of a high-profile takeover.

Manchester United legends David Beckham and Gary Neville have completed a takeover of Salford City with a new consortium that, according to a report from The Athletic, has committed to injecting significant funds.

Beckham and Neville were already part-owners in the League Two club, along with other members of the ‘Class of 92’, such as Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes, which has seen the north-west club’s profile rise tremendously over the past decade.

The report adds that Beckham, who also co-owns Inter Miami in the MLS, and Neville have spent months seeking investment partners since the departure of major shareholder Peter Lim in 2024 and that the pair have ultimately decided to work with Declan Kelly, founder of U.S.-based advisory firm Consello, and Lord Mervyn Davies, chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association who will co-chair Salford’s board of directors.

It is believed that the collective have raised around $15-20million to boost the club’s sporting and infrastructural ambitions with the main target reaching the Championship within the next five years.

Rovers and Salford faced each other the last time the Gas were in the fourth tier during the 2021/22 campaign. The Ammies rose through non-league swiftly following the well-documented ‘Class of 92’ takeover in 2014 but have stagnated in the bottom tier of League football.

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The 2025/26 campaign will be Salford’s seventh consecutive season in League Two having missed out on the play-offs this season by a single point.

Meanwhile, the Gas have dropped into the fourth tier after three seasons in League One and will be seeking a return to the third tier at the first time of asking.

Rovers have already lifted spirits going into the new season by appointing club legend Darrell Clarke as their new head coach, six-and-a-half years since his last spell in the Memorial Stadium dugout.

This season has seen one of the most competitive promotion races in League Two for years and, although the new campaign doesn’t start for just shy of three months, already it looks as though the battle at the top will be tight.

David Beckham and Gary Neville could have say on Bristol Rovers’ League Two promotion chances

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