David Beckham and Gary Neville release 17 PLAYERS at Salford after falling short of League Two playoffs... as fan favourite breaks silence after brutal exodus

Salford owners David Beckham and Gary Neville person sparked a immense rebuild astatine the League Two nine aft realising 17 players up of the summer transfer window.

The 2 erstwhile Manchester United stars acquired afloat ownership of the Ammies with their latest takeover past week, buying retired aged team-mates Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt who were each 10 per cent shareholders previously.

Beckham and Neville person made nary concealed of their tendency to propel Salford up the shot league and were people disappointed by the club's nonaccomplishment to suffice for the League Two playoffs, missing retired by conscionable 3 points aft the 46-game season.

Just days aft assuming afloat power of the club, the duo person released 17 of Salford's players successful an effort to shingle things up up of the caller campaign.

Fan favourite Matthew Lund, who was Salford's longest-serving subordinate pursuing his accomplishment successful 2021, is 1 of the 17 players omitted from the club's retained list.

Confirming his exit moments aft the announcement, the 34-year-old seasoned said: 'Salford City it’s been a pleasure!

'Loved my 4 years astatine the club. Thanks to each the players, unit and fans.'

Meanwhile, Liam Shephard and Conor McAleny volition beryllium moving connected aft 4 years astatine the Peninsula Stadium, portion Ryan Watson is besides heading for the exit door.

Honouring the players' committedness to the nine successful a statement, Salford said: 'All 4 person made important contributions and been progressive successful immoderate cardinal moments during their clip successful M7, including reaching the play-offs successful 2022-23, and determination onto the adjacent signifier of their careers with our precise champion wishes and gratitude for their efforts and professionalism passim their respective stays.'

They articulation Jez Davies, Marcus Dackers, Jon Taylor, James Carr, Callum Morton and Sandro Da Costa arsenic the elder players released by the League Two club.

In presumption of academy stars, Liam Humbles, Eze Bowen, Matty Cucos, Ben Collins, Aiden Lancaster, Jacob Hamman and Kamoy McNair person besides near the club.

A fistful of indebtedness stars — Matty Young (Sunderland), Kylian Kouassi (Blackpool), Lewis Warrington (Leyton Orient), Stephan Negru (Oxford United), Tyrese Fornah (Derby) and Frankie Okoronkwo (Everton) — volition instrumentality to their genitor clubs too.

Beckham and Neville urged that they volition beryllium precise hands-on successful their stewardship of Salford arsenic they pursuit the imagination of reaching the Premier League 1 day.

The erstwhile Real Madrid star, who is besides an proprietor of MLS outfit Inter Miami, opened up connected their ambitions plans aft the takeover and said: 'We’re decidedly not doing it for a laughter and it’s besides not for the romanticist broadside of things.

'Yes, we attraction astir the nine — but we’re doing it to win. We privation Salford to beryllium palmy and we person had success, but past we privation it to spell connected to the adjacent level.

'I ever imagination large truthful I’m ever going to privation america to get to the pinnacle of shot and beryllium successful the Premier League. But there’s a batch of hard enactment and a batch of concern to beryllium done up until that point.

'The Championship is simply a league that we privation to get successful but it’s measurement by step. We privation occurrence precise rapidly but these things instrumentality time. 

'There’s a crushed wherefore we’re not going to beryllium going up this year. So what is that reason? How bash we lick it? And what bash we request to enactment astir the team, the manager and the nine to guarantee we person that success?

'But if we tin bash that, accelerated guardant it and beryllium up successful the Championship, that’s what the imagination would be.

'We’ve each been inspired by what Ryan Reynolds has been doing astatine Wrexham and I’m not saying this is wherefore we’re doing it due to the fact that it’s not. But I’ve spoken to Ryan astir it truthful galore times present and helium said the feeling astir the city, the feeling astir the club, is truthful exceptional. That’s the benignant of happening that we privation to create.'