David Beckham and Gary Neville threw their support behind their club Salford City from 5,000 miles away as the long-time friends and former team-mates enjoyed a holiday in California's Napa Valley.
Class of '92 Owners Divided by Distance
The Manchester United legends led a consortium buying out their Class of '92 team-mates at the Peninsula Stadium last year. After finishing fourth in League Two this season, Salford are contesting a play-off semi-final against Grimsby on Friday evening in pursuit of a berth at Wembley. Rather than taking in the second leg on home soil, Beckham and Neville put up their club's flag Stateside and shared the picture on social media.
Beckham previously shared snaps of his travels in California wine country, alongside Neville and sports agent Dave Gardner, with the caption: 'Great few days back in Napa with special people. 38 years of friendship between the 3 of us.'
By contrast, former shareholders Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs were in the stands on a cold night in Salford, watching their team attempt to protect their 2-1 lead from the first-leg tie.
Match Action at Peninsula Stadium
Salford took a giant step towards the League Two play-off final when, seven minutes into the second half, Dan Udoh fired low into the bottom corner to send the Peninsula Stadium into raptures. Flares were set off behind the goal as Scholes, Giggs and Butt were embraced by friends and family, the goal putting them ahead 3-1 on aggregate in the first of the semi-finals.
The expectation at Salford City going into this season was that automatic promotion was a realistic ambition given they had what many sources said was a top six and competitive budget. Finishing fourth was Salford's highest ever finish in the English pyramid. While this was a nip-and-tuck game through 45 minutes, Neville and Co had a lot more to celebrate in the second half when they turned on the style.
Grimsby Town made Neville and Co sweat when, in the 74th minute, Grimsby captain Kieran Green nodded in from an inswinging corner to level it on the night and make it 3-2 to Salford on aggregate.
Class of '92 Investment Journey
The Class of '92 shareholders first began investing in the club in 2014, with Beckham investing in the club five years later in 2019. Since the takeover, Salford have won four promotions, but have remained in League Two for six years.
Announcing his decision to take over ownership alongside Neville, and figures including Lord Mervyn Davies and businessman Declan Kelly, Beckham wrote: 'Salford played such an important role in my life growing up... it's where I trained with United alongside my best mates every day, it's where I bought my first house and where me and Victoria lived. I'm so proud to be part of a new ownership group alongside my mate Gary Neville as we begin the next chapter of Salford's journey. Football is at the heart of this community and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the Ammies.'
