- \n
- Frank Ryan (Co-chair, co-CEO, Americas Chair, DLA Piper)<\/li>\n
- Shravin Mittal (founder of Unbound)<\/li>\n
- Nick Woodhouse (executive vice chairman, Authentic Brands Group)<\/li>\n
- Colin Ryan (founder, Clipper Street Capital)<\/li>\n
- Dream Sports Group (Indian sports technology company)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The collective are believed to have raised around $15-20million to boost Salford\u2019s sporting and infrastructural ambitions over the next five years. Inside that timeframe they are targeting promotion to the Championship.<\/p>\n
Each member will hold a 5 per cent or 10 per cent stake, totalling at 80 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent has been earmarked for additional partners.<\/p>\n
None of them will have day-to-day involvement \u2014 interviews are taking place to appoint a chief executive and that person will drive matters on the ground \u2014 but their influence is set to be felt across the operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be over every big decision that\u2019s made and every little decision that\u2019s made,\u201d Beckham, who also co-owns Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, told The Athletic during an exclusive interview. \u201cThat\u2019s what my commitment is to Gary. It\u2019s what my commitment is to the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the initial 2014 acquisition, Salford enjoyed a spectacular rise that featured four promotions in five years. However, they have not climbed the ladder since then and finished just outside the play-offs this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re definitely not doing it for a laugh and it\u2019s also not for the romantic side of things,\u201d Beckham continued. \u201cYes, we care about the club \u2014 but we\u2019re doing it to win. We want Salford to be successful and we have had success, but then we want it to go on to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always dream big so I\u2019m always going to want us to get to the pinnacle of football and be in the Premier League. But there\u2019s a lot of hard work and a lot of investment to be done up until that point.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Championship is a league that we want to get in but it\u2019s step by step. We want success very quickly but these things take time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a reason why we\u2019re not going to be going up this year. So what is that reason? How do we solve it? And what do we need to put around the team, the manager and the club to ensure we have that success?<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if we can do that, fast forward it and be up in the Championship, that\u2019s what the dream would be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The progress of Wrexham and Birmingham City under their own big-name backers serve as examples of what it is possible to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all been inspired by what Ryan Reynolds has been doing at Wrexham and I\u2019m not saying this is why we\u2019re doing it because it\u2019s not,\u201d Beckham adds. \u201cBut I\u2019ve spoken to Ryan about it so many times now and he said the feeling around the city, the feeling around the club, is so exceptional. That\u2019s the kind of thing that we want to create.<\/p>\n
\u201cTom Wagner and Tom Brady have done an incredible job with Birmingham. I went to a game a few months back and the atmosphere in the stadium was one of the best I\u2019ve seen for a long time. That\u2019s what we want to create. We want to create that community, add to the community and fan base we\u2019ve already got \u2014 and then lift it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2172464488-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBeckham attended this season\u2019s League One fixture between Birmingham and Wrexham with Brady (Alex Pantling\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see what the Toms are doing, there is investment, there is a plan and it would be the dream to talk about the growth of Salford City.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not only growth on the field, which is what we care most about, but we want success. Because if we\u2019re having success then we\u2019re also having the opportunity to say: \u2018Now we we\u2019re going to invest, now we\u2019re going to get a bigger stadium, now we\u2019re going to get a bigger training facility and then it will go on. That is what we\u2019re aiming for.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to turn around and say: \u2018OK, there\u2019s a bunch of money, we have no plan but we have the money and now we\u2019ll go and get the players\u2019. That\u2019s not how we work in business. It has to be sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to be a real plan around the club because we want to be taken seriously on the field, firstly, and then on the business side. We don\u2019t want to look stupid or make the mistakes that others have in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salford\u2019s journey was chronicled in a 2015 behind-the-scenes television programme and they intend to ramp up commercial projects to propel revenues. The aim is to reverse the trend of making a financial loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were the first to have a fly-on-the-wall documentary series,\u201d said Neville. \u201cThat model has been saturated by many clubs. I think we\u2019ll take this forward with a different type of content and production model.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel very strongly that owners are just guardians of football clubs for fans and the idea is that fans should have access behind the scenes to what people are doing in the club. It\u2019s almost like a public company and it should be treated as such because of its importance to the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve never been shy in coming forward in respect of content for the club and that will be the same moving forward. But there are different innovative ways that can be done that isn\u2019t just a straight documentary.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1302487268-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNeville has been involved at Salford since 2014 (Naomi Baker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be successful on the pitch, we have to invest in the local area and we also need to look at our infrastructure; the stadium and training ground. We\u2019ve invested heavily over the last 10 years and we\u2019ll invest heavily again in this next four or five years \u2014 but we need to get this club on a firm footing financially and get balance into this club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are very good examples of clubs in League Two, League One and the Championship who are almost sustainable, with a little bit of owner funding. They have created a player trading model and financial and commercial revenue streams that mean that they can look at things slightly differently and be successful, whilst being more sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n
What the pair appear fiercely determined not to lose sight of is the original reason they formed an association with Salford and for Beckham in particular this link is viewed as his legacy in British football.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in the east end of London but moved to Manchester when I was 15 and lived in Salford; I actually bought my first house there and it\u2019s the first house that me and Victoria lived in together,\u201d the former England captain recalls. \u201cI trained in Salford for many years at The Cliff. So, it\u2019s always been a special place from day one.<\/p>\n
\u201cOwning a club in a place where I grew up as a young kid means so much. Salford is actually everything that I love about football. Real people, real players, tough league, tough players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always talk about Manchester United as a family club. I\u2019m still going back now and meeting people who worked there when I first arrived at 10 years old. That means something and Salford is like that. You have people turning up to watch their local team and who have done that for years \u2014 it\u2019s a family environment and that\u2019s what I love about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville concludes: \u201cA lot of people talk about exit strategies when they\u2019re investing into a business but this is a football club, a sense of duty, loyalty and love that has grown for me over the last 10 years of watching every single Salford game.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid and I are not majority owners but the importance of accessibility, looking after local people, looking after the fans, investing in the area, making sure we do this for the right reasons and that the people coming in with us are doing it for the right reasons is why we chose this route.\u201d<\/p>\n
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