EFL League Two club Salford City announced on its official website on Friday that Manchester United legends Gary Neville and David Beckham have become the club's largest shareholders and have successfully led an American consortium to acquire the club's shares.

According to Salford City's official statement, the core members of the consortium led by Neville and Beckham also include American businessmen Declan Kelly and Lord Mervyn Davies, who will serve as co-chairmen of the club's board of directors.

The consortium also includes Dream Sports Group, India's leading sports technology company, Colin Ryan, founder of Clipper Street Capital, Frank Ryan, global co-chairman and chairman of the Americas of DLA Piper, Nick Woodhouse, executive vice chairman of Authentic Brands Group, and Shravin Mittal, founder of Unbound.

In addition, the new consortium will continue to invest in Salford City on the basis established by Manchester United's "Class of 92" members and its former Singaporean owner Peter Lim.

Manchester United's "Class of 92" members Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Philip Neville will step down as joint shareholders, but they will continue to play a role in the club's technology, football, business, recruitment and foundation.

According to The Athletic, each shareholder, including Neville and Beckham, is expected to hold 5 to 10% of Salford City's shares, and the remaining 20% will be left to potential new partners in the future.

The consortium is expected to spend £15 million to £20 million on Salford City and hopes to achieve the dream of being promoted to the EFL Championship within five years.

After completing the acquisition, David Beckham said in an interview with Salford City's official website: "I grew up in Salford and I have fond memories of the time I spent there. This place and the people here played an important role in my early football career. Salford City is the heart of the community and it has a rich history. I am very happy to be part of the new chapter."

Neville said: "I am passionate about Salford City. This is a unique partnership that brings together wisdom and expertise from different fields, united by a love of football. We will put football first, but at the same time it is vital to drive the club towards sustainable development in the next 4-5 years. I can't wait to look forward to the next stage of this journey. "

It is worth mentioning that in fact, like their former teammates Butt, Giggs, Scholes and Philip Neville, Gary Neville bought Salford City as early as March 2014 together with Peter Lim, and later Beckham became one of the minority shareholders of the club in January 2019.

Under the leadership of Peter Lim and Manchester United's "Class of 92", Salford City successfully achieved several consecutive promotions all the way from Step 5 of the English non-league to the EFL League Two.

However, because Peter Lim was boycotted due to a series of scandals, and the Singaporean tycoon, who is also the owner of La Liga club Valencia, was forced to resign as a shareholder in April 2025.