THEY WERE RUMOURED to be at the centre of a buy-out of the Glazers at Old Trafford this week, but the Class of ’92 are on the brink of purchasing another Manchester club.
Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers have agreed to buy Salford City, subject to FA and league approval.
The deal for the club, who play in the Evo-Stik League Division One North, is due to be completed in the coming months.
“I had my first trial for Manchester United in Salford at age 11 and I will never forget how important that was to me,” Gary Neville said. “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.”
Giggs added: “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.”
The Sun newspaper this morning reported that the former teammates — along with David Beckham — were ready to front a consortium which would take over the Glazer family’s controlling share at the Premier League champions.
“Whether or not there is any truth in the story of a possible takeover of Manchester United,” said Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of the 200,000 strong Manchester United
Supporters Trust this evening, “and we remain sceptical at this stage, it has certainly
sparked interest amongst United fans.
“Undoubtedly the majority of fans would like to see a better ownership model which put the club and fans first rather than the profits of private owners. As with the fans these special players have MUFC running through their veins so you can understand why fans would warm to the idea of working together with them on a better ownership model for United.
“Gary Neville has recently voiced his admiration for the Bayern Munich structure and that is also similar to the model which MUST would like to see too. Munich benefit from shared ownership between fans and commercial investors with people with real football backgrounds in positions of power alongside the best professional executives. That combination is potent and has turned Bayern Munich into the powerhouse we see today.”
“Like Munich, United don’t need a Sugar Daddy. We just need to be released from the shackles of the Glazer ownership and allowed to reinvest Manchester United’s own massive revenues for the benefit of the club and fans.
“Sir Matt Busby always saw Manchester United like a family with the owners, board, players and fans all working together. That is very much our vision too. We’d like to see every Manchester United fan in the world able to own a stake in, and contribute to, their own football club.”
