Manchester United’s ‘Class of ’92’ – minus David Beckham – have completed a deal to buy Salford City Football Club.
Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt will all complete the acquisition of the Evo-Stik League Division One North club later in the summer, subject to the approval of the Football Association and the Football League.
Gary Neville said: “I had my first trial for Manchester United in Salford at age 11 and I will never forget how important that was to me.
“Salford City FC to me represents those early years, the commitment, hunger, enthusiasm, desire and spirit of football and I am very excited about this venture.”
Scholes said: “We know it will be tough but we will be committed to this from the start and have some very exciting plans going forward.”
Butt said: “Moor Lane’s sporting heritage dates back 320 years, the oldest of its type in the Manchester area and this should be safeguarded so it becomes a lasting legacy for future generations.”
Phil Neville said: “It is important to safeguard the hard work that is done in the lower leagues and it is going to be exciting to be able to feed our experience into the young players.”
Giggs said: “Everyone knows how important Salford is to me, so this is an exciting acquisition that is right at the heart of what we all believe in.
“We want to engage the football community, use our football experience and knowledge to aspire and nurture young talent and being able to do that in Salford makes it even more exciting.”
Giggs remains a player at Old Trafford, as well as a coach alongside Phil Neville. Gary Neville is a respected Sky Sports pundit who also coaches the England national team, and it has not yet been confirmed what exact roles the quintet will take on in their new club.
