Gary Neville defends investing millions on Salford City

In the midst of criticism, Gary Neville, one of the co-owners of League Two side Salford City, has defended the club’s spending philosophy.

The club’s parent business, Project 92 Limited, lost more than £4.7 million last year, amounting to an average of £91,000 each week, it was revealed last month.

Former Manchester United players Neville, his brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, and Nicky Butt created Project 92 Ltd.

The League Two club is owned by each of the six former players, as well as Singaporean business billionaire Peter Lim.

Before today’s game against Mansfield Town at home, Neville spoke to an international sports website live and said: “In the last seven or eight years, we’ve put a lot of money into it.”

“But it’s just myself, David, Ryan, Paul, Nicky, Phil, and Peter.”

”Peter owns 50% of the company, and we own 50%. We’ve invested a lot of money into it. That’s what we’ve decided to do. I’m not opposed to private equity money.”

“We only spend what we have on hand. It’s a lot of money to lose, but we’ve worked our way up from step eight and had to spend millions upon millions on this stadium. And we all knew it was going to happen from the start.”

“At the club, we do a one-day event for sustainability.”

“We could put our money towards something else. People could grumble if we drove expensive automobiles and spent our money on a variety of items.”

“However, we’ve invested it in our local football team, and that’s significant capital from the class of ’92.”

Neville also addressed suggestions that the losses necessitated promotion this season in order to alleviate financial issues.

That was contested by him, who added: “The amount of money we invest is doable for the seven of us. We’re at ease with our current situation. Although there is no financial pressure to advance, there is sporting disappointment.”

In terms of wages, the City’s pay bill climbed by 10% year over year. It demonstrates that they spend £143 on salaries for every £100 of income.

Former United players have invested extensively in the club since its takeover, upgrading its infrastructure, turning it professional, and guiding it into the EFL in 2019.

Salford have failed to qualify for the play-offs for the third year in a row after a 2-2 draw with Mansfield on Monday.