Beckham inspired by Wrexham after completing Salford takeover | OneFootball

David Beckham and Gary Neville have said they have been inspired by Wrexham after completing a takeover of Salford City.

Beckham and Neville are fronting a new consortium that has taken over from the previous regime. The former Manchester United players were previously co-owners of the League Two side, but have now led a new takeover. Fellow ‘Class of ’92’ members Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes have relinquished their stakes, but will remain involved at Moor Lane.

The new ownership group have raised around £15m for the project, with the ambition to turn Salford into a Championship club within five years. Salford have risen through the leagues since the initial involvement of the ex-Manchester United group in 2014, but have struggled to progress from League Two. The Ammies have spent six seasons in the fourth tier and narrowly missed out on the play-offs this season.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Beckham – who also co-owns MLS outfit Inter Miami – has said he has been inspired by the stories of Birmingham City and Wrexham, who have bold ambitions under celebrity ownerships.

“I will be over every big decision that’s made and every little decision that’s made,” Beckham said.

“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.

“The Championship is a league that we want to get in but it’s step by step. We want success very quickly but these things take time.

“There’s a reason why we’re 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?

“But if we can do that, fast forward it and be up in the Championship, that’s what the dream would be.”

Wrexham secured a record-breaking third consecutive promotion this season to earn a place in the Championship next season. According to football financial experts, the club’s value has increased 7,400% (from £2m to around £150m) since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club in 2021. With the backdrop of a hit Netflix series bringing in a new genre of fans, Beckham admits it has been an inspirational story.

“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.

“Tom 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’ve seen for a long time. That’s what we want to create. We want to create that community, add to the community and fan base we’ve already got — and then lift it.

“When 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.

“It’s not only growth on the field, which is what we care most about, but we want success. Because if we’re having success then we’re also having the opportunity to say: ‘Now we we’re going to invest, now we’re going to get a bigger stadium, now we’re going to get a bigger training facility and then it will go on. That is what we’re aiming for.

“We’re not going to turn around and say: ‘OK, there’s a bunch of money, we have no plan but we have the money and now we’ll go and get the players’. That’s not how we work in business. It has to be sustainable.

“It 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’t want to look stupid or make the mistakes that others have in the past.”

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