Salford City
Flickr photo by James Boyes shared under a Creative Commons (BY 2.0) license.

Salford City: Legends contributing to football post-retirement

Qasim Mujtaba Naqvi·
Football
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A brief look into Salford City, one of England’s fastest-growing football clubs, as they continue to soar under infamous ownership…

Post-retirement financial development remains a problem for many footballers. Most become coaches or pundits. In the case of the much-famed Manchester United Class of ’92, they became both. They played for their dream club – and pulled off the only continental treble by an English club. From there, they eventually retired or moved on. More recently, they’ve became the joint-owners of a football club. In March 2014, reports surfaced that Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes had decided to buy a football club not far from where they grew up. This club was Salford City Football Club.

By the end of summer, the deal was done. Each of the legends purchased a 10% share; while the remaining 50% was bought by Singapore-based billionaire Peter Lim. This proved to be the start of a fairytale for a team that found itself in the eighth-tier of English football – closer to obscurity than professional status. Four years later, most people in Manchester are aware of Salford City. The owners are literal cult figures due to their exploits with Manchester United, and the club has gone from strength to strength since the takeover.

They haven’t splashed the cash to become relevant like other teams in Manchester (read: FFP). On the contrary, they’ve notched victories while playing a rather attractive style of football. As recently as 2018, they signed striker Adam Rooney from the Scottish Premiership for a six-figure fee. This illustrated their willingness to invest when necessary. The club has set high expectations for itself and been slightly more open to spending than its league counterparts, most of which change so frequently that it’s hard to keep count. The owners’ relationship with Manchester United has led to Salford loaning prospects like Sadiq El Fitouri, and permanently signing Devonte Redmond.

Salford City is nearing its 80th anniversary (yes, it’s older than Pakistan), but the last few years have seen the club reach unparalleled heights. The Ammies have gone further in the FA Cup than ever before – and added another crowning moment to their glittering recent history last week. In classic Manchester United fashion, they snatched an 88th-minute winner to go a point clear in 2nd place. In England, the fourth division and above are considered professional football. Salford have never played at that level… not yet, at least.

The club currently sits 2nd in the National League Conference Premier, with only 3 points separating them from the top. This means they can qualify straight to the play-off semi-final if they maintain their position. If they usurp Leyton Orient to go first, they could guarantee promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history. Even so, the owners feel there’s still a long way to go. In fact, just five years ago they promised Championship football within fifteen years. They’re on course to gaining their fourth promotion since.

Moreover, David Beckham entered the fray as a 10% shareholder in 2019, completing the original Class of ’92. Everyone best believe this club is on an upward trajectory – and undoubtedly worth following. The only way for Salford City is seemingly up, leaving fans to wonder how far they can truly go.