I dream big – David Beckham and Gary Neville head consortium buying Salford | OneFootball

David Beckham is targeting the Premier League with Salford after he and Gary Neville became part of a new ownership group at the League Two club.

The former Manchester United stars are members of a consortium which also includes a US-based businessman, Declan Kelly, and Lord Mervyn Davies, and will take control with immediate effect.

“I will be over every big decision that’s made and every little decision that’s made,” Beckham told The Athletic. “That’s what my commitment is to Gary. It’s what my commitment is to the club.

“We’re definitely not doing it for a laugh and it’s also not for the romantic side of things. Yes, we care about the club — but we’re 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.

“I always dream big so I’m always going to want us to get to the pinnacle of football and be in the Premier League. But there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of investment to be done up until that point.”

Beckham first invested in Salford in January 2019, joining former ‘Class of 92’ team-mates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt as a shareholder.

Gary Neville bought out the stake of former co-owner Peter Lim last August.

The club confirmed on Thursday that Phil Neville, Scholes, Giggs and Butt were no longer shareholders but would still be contributing “with roles in the club across technical, football, commercial, recruitment and the SCFC foundation”.

Kelly and Davies will serve as co-chairs on the club’s board.

The club said the acquisition includes “a commitment by the new shareholders to invest significantly in the club, the team and its facilities”.

Salford missed out on the League Two play-offs by a single point, so will again play in English football’s fourth tier next season.

Kelly and 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.”

An advisory and investment firm, Consello, will lead the club’s commercial strategy, with the club said to be “looking forward to bringing on a series of commercial partners across the UK, US, Europe, and Asia”.

Salford hope they can follow Wrexham’s lead in attracting overseas interest and investment following the buyout of the Welsh club by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Since the takeover Wrexham have risen from the National League to the Championship, having achieved three successive promotions.

Beckham added: “We’ve all been inspired by what Ryan Reynolds has been doing at Wrexham and I’m not saying this is why we’re doing it because it’s not.

“But I’ve 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’s the kind of thing that we want to create.”