David Beckham buys stake in Salford City

David Beckham has joined the rest of the Class of ‘92, and Phil Neville, in owning 10% each in Salford City. He bought his stake from Peter Lim, the businessman who also owns Valencia. Beckham has more or less sorted out his Miami MLS franchise so now can work on undermining Manchester United along with the rest of his friends. And, indeed, there is no good reason for him to think that he cannot run a club better than Ed Woodward and the Glazers, and install them as the third big club in the city/cities.

Lim has often been mentioned as a potential buyer for Manchester United, and the Glazers are reportedly interested in a sale of the club in the future. As owner of Valencia, he would be able to raise a couple of hundred million euros depending on the state he can bring them to.

The Class of ‘92’s Hotel Football, stationed next to Old Trafford and already playing on the reputation of United, is something that businessmen at United should have done themselves or bought from the group already, and some have said its existence is a source of tension at the club.

The Glazers could conceivably ask for around $4 billion for the club, which would require almost any buyer needing to raise a hefty sum of borrowed money to complete any deal. Making a profit on such a large purchase would assume that the Premier League can maintain interest in the current product, which is still somehow the best in the world despite the money in the top two clubs of Spain. Apart from those two though, and the middling efforts of Paris Saint-Germain, there is little better on offer.

Salford City are in the Conference Premier, currently placed in third, meaning they could be a Premier League club halfway through the next decade.