This season, Salford City has enjoyed some media attention after facing Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup. A match that, surprisingly, could be considered a derby, since much of the club's ownership belonged to several players from the Class of ’92 of Manchester United. Now, however, David Beckham has returned to England with his former teammate Gary Neville to ‘steal’ the club from their friends.

A club made up of Manchester United legends

The deal was completed just days after Salford City’s draw against Carlisle United (2-2), which left them out of the League One promotion playoffs on the final matchday. This came after a rough end to the season, during which their performance declined after sitting in third place back in January.

In fact, it was in January when Salford City visited the Etihad Stadium to take on a struggling Manchester City. A slump that players like Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, and Paul Scholes hoped to take advantage of. All of them are Manchester United legends and owners of Salford City, which ended up being crushed by Manchester City (8-0).

How much did Beckham pay to buy Salford City?

Now, with David Beckham and Gary Neville joining the club’s ownership, Salford City hopes to get the boost it needs to continue climbing the ranks of English football. Their story hasn’t gone unnoticed in England, especially since the arrival of the iconic Class of ’92 from Manchester United in 2014, which led to four promotions in five seasons.

However, the project has somewhat stalled since their promotion to League Two in 2019 — the fourth tier of English football. For that reason, ownership began searching for new investors in 2024, and it was David Beckham who ended up becoming the majority shareholder after paying a sum estimated between 15 and 20 million US dollars.