North West Richard Frost

David Beckham "really, really wanted to get involved" in Salford City FC but was too busy trying to set up a football team in the US, the Class of 92 have revealed.

Former Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt agreed a deal to buy Evo-Stik First Division North team Salford City in March 2014.

The other member of the Class of 92, a group of players who broke into the Manchester United side in the early 90s and dominated English football for a generation, was Beckham.

And Butt admitted that he and his co-owners tried to persuade Beckham to join them at Salford City.

He said: "Becks is a part of us. I think he really, really wanted to get involved. But he's got so many things on that in the end he politely declined."

Nevertheless, Butt revealed that Beckham still "takes an interest" in Salford City's fortunes. There was even a plan for him to visit Salford City's home stadium Moor Lane to see the team play against Darlington last season but the idea had to be abandoned over security risks.

Beckham left Manchester United in 2003 and went on to star at Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and LA Galaxy before retiring from the game in 2013. In February 2014, he unveiled plans to launch a new Major League Soccer (MLS) team in Miami but after a series of setbacks the side is not expected to start playing until the start of the 2018 season at the earliest.

Giggs said: "Becks was busy trying to get an MLS franchise going. The conversation was had but the timing wasn't right."

Salford City is now half-owned by Giggs, Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt collectively, and half-owned by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim.

The Class of 92 spoke to Insider after the press screening of Class of 92: Out of their League, a new documentary series that follows the ex-players during their first season in charge of Salford City. Class of 92: Out of their League starts on BBC One in early September 2015.

More from the Class of 92: Giggs, Scholes and Butt explain the investment from Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim.

Image note: The photo shows (l-r) Giggs, Scholes and Butt.