Gary Neville denies Wrexham jealousy in bold Salford prediction after David Beckham takeover

Gary Neville has denied being jealous of Wrexham's impressive achievements under Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The Welsh side have enjoyed unprecedented success since being taken over by the two actors in 2021, registering three consecutive promotions from the National League to the Championship.

Neville previously experienced a similar upward trajectory with Salford City when he first bought into the club back in 2014. The former Manchester United defender invested in the Ammies along with other Class of '92 icons Paul Scholes, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt.

Salford initially secured four promotions during a prosperous five-year spell, taking them from the Northern Premier League to League Two. However, their progress then stalled and they have been stuck in the fourth tier since 2019.

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Neville and fellow United legend David Beckham completed a buyout of Salford as part of a new consortium in May after setting a goal of reaching the Championship within the next five years. But despite being overtaken by Wrexham, who have made it to that level in a shorter time frame, the Sky Sports pundit insists he is not envious of the Red Dragons.

"No, I don't wish I was any other football club, I don't work or operate like that," he told FourFourTwo magazine. "With new owners, we've got a plan whereby in four to five years, I'd like to think Salford would be more successful on the pitch. That's the hope.

"We will also have invested in our training ground and stadium, and be in a position whereby we can achieve sustainability. That's the real drive of this ownership, to grow revenues, be successful on the pitch, become sustainable and ensure we still meet those values of being affordable and accessible that we had from day one. There's a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in, but we're committed and that's the most important thing."

The comparisons between Wrexham and Salford are perhaps imevitable given the Ammies featured in their own BBC documentary during the early years of the Class of 92 takeover. That was years before before Reynolds and McElhenney turned Wrexham into an unlikely global phenomenon via the Welcome to Wrexham docuseries.

However, Neville stressed earlier this year that he and Beckham are planning to take Salford on a different path, which doesn't rely on huge sums of their own money being pumped in.

Speaking on he said: "Me and Becks decided that we would put money in for the next four or five years, which is a commitment we've all made. There's been quite a lot of money been promised over the next four years.

"[But] we won't change the budget, and to reverse out of the model we already have, you need two or three years. You can't just go from investing to becoming sustainable – you've got players' contracts for three years, and you've generally got a model that you've built which you can't get away from.

"I think it's very different from Wrexham and Birmingham, where you're talking about hundreds of millions going into those clubs, particularly Birmingham. That's not what we're looking to do with Salford."

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