Salford City FC acquired by powerful global consortium including David Beckham

League Two side, Salford City FC, has been acquired by a new ownership group led by former Manchester United and England stars David Beckham and Gary Neville, together with US-based businessman Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies, who will both serve as new co-chairs of the club’s board.

The club finished the 2024-25 season just one point off a play-off spot for promotion to League One, behind Chesterfield.

The consortium has taken control effective immediately and has introduced a new commercial management structure and pledged to source further investment from the UK, US, Europe and Asia for the club, the team and its facilities.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, has been 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).

A club statement said: “These shareholders have extensive experience working with many of the world’s biggest companies and brands. The membership group has been specifically constructed to include executives drawn from different backgrounds across finance, legal, media, tech and entertainment sectors to maximise the impact and contribution they can have on the vlub moving forward.”

It added: “The new consortium’s investment in Salford City will build on the work undertaken over the last several years by the Class of ‘92 and Peter Lim, who are no longer serving as shareholders.

“Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Philip Neville will continue to contribute to the next step of this journey with roles in the club across technical, football, commercial, recruitment and the SCFC foundation.

“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 UK, US, Europe, and Asia.”

Gary Neville said: “I am passionate about Salford City. This is a unique partnership with a diverse range of minds and expertise, held together by a love of football. Football will come first, however, it’s critical that we drive the club towards sustainability in the next four-five years. I can’t wait for the next part of this journey.”

David Beckham said: “I grew up in Salford …. I have such fond memories of my time living there and the place and its people played such an important part in my early life in football. Salford City is at the heart of its community …. it has a rich history and I am delighted to be a part of the next chapter.”

Declan Kelly and Lord 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.”