David Beckham reacts to big off-pitch change at Salford City | OneFootball

David Beckham has reacted to Salford City's appointment of Gavin Fleig as the club's new CEO, following his May buy-out of the club with Gary Neville.

A big change behind the scenes at League Two Salford City has met with the approval of co-owner David Beckham, who completed a takeover the club in May.

Big changes have been afoot at Salford City since the end of the 2024-25 season, when the club was bought out by a new consortium led by Gary Neville and David Beckham.

Salford finished the 2024-25 League Two campaign in eighth position, missing out on a play-off spot on the final day and ending the season one point outside the top seven.

But now, the club have announced a high-profile change behind the scenes, with the appointment of an experienced football administrator whose appointment is quite a coup for a club of their size.

David Beckham welcomes Gavin Fleig to the Peninsula Stadium on Instagram

Beckham welcomed new CEO Gavin Fleig to Salford City by saying "Excited to welcome Gavin to @salfordcityfc" alongside a photo of the club's new hire on an Instagram story, which was shared with his 88.2 million followers.

Beckham's consortium bought out the Class of '92 group in May, meaning that his former Manchester United team-mates Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville are no longer shareholders in the club.

The years immediately after the takeover saw the Ammies soar up the divisions, winning four promotions in five seasons all the way from Division One North of the Northern Premier League into the EFL.

Since then, however, they have stalled a little, reaching the play-offs just once in six seasons. On the only occasion that they did reach the play-offs, in 2023, they were beaten in the semi-finals by Stockport County.

The new group consists of Beckham and Gary Neville, alongside a group including India-based Dream Sports Group, Colin Ryan, Frank Ryan, Nick Woodhouse and Shravin Mittal.

Fleig brings a wealth of experience to the Peninsula Stadium

The appointment of Gavin Fleig as CEO might not be the most glamorous appointment of the summer, but it could be a very important one for Salford City.

Fleig certainly comes to the club with an impressive CV. He's spent the last eleven years with the City Football Group, where he was responsible for overseeing talent strategy and player development pathways across their global network of clubs.

Prior to that, Fleig spent time at Manchester City, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers in varying performance analysis and scouting roles. He will formally join the club at the start of October.

For a club of Salford's size, this is an intriguing appointment, although all at the club have become familiar with the glare of publicity as a result of the identity of both their current and former owners. They will be hoping that this appointment, coupled with the club's new ownership structure, can help to push them further up the League Two table next season.