Man United greats were trumped by Ryan Reynolds but can take center stage again in the FA Cup

MANCHESTER, England — Before Ryan Reynolds and Wrexham there was Salford City and a group of Manchester United greats aiming to transform the fortunes of a down-on-its-luck soccer team with the help of some celebrity stardust.

And before “Welcome to Wrexham” was streamed around the world, Salford even had its own fly-on-the-wall docuseries capturing the triumphs and pitfalls of unlikely owners learning the ropes in the lower reaches of soccer.

Sound familiar?

On Saturday, co-owners David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt aim to pull off Salford's biggest achievement yet by producing what would be a famous FA Cup upset against the mighty Manchester City.

Such has been the success of Wrexham under Reynolds and Hollywood partner Rob McElhenney that it has leapfrogged Salford — rising from non-league to the third division where it is challenging for a third straight promotion. But on Saturday it will be Salford and its celebrity owners in the spotlight again when the fourth-division team travels to the Etihad Stadium in the third round of soccer's oldest knockout competition.

Given that Salford neighbors Manchester, it is the type of Cup match that traditionally grabs attention — pitting David vs. Goliath. But the fact that Salford's co-owners are United icons adds extra intrigue.

Members of United's famed Class of 92, Beckham et al rose from the club's academy to become part of managerial great Alex Ferguson's all-conquering team of the 1990s and 2000s. They were part of United's greatest triumph — winning an unprecedented treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in '99.

In recent years, City has gone on to dominate English soccer and matched United's treble achievement in 2023.

But City's struggles this season — which included a recent run of one win in 13 games — could provide a source of hope to Salford. Either way, it will be a landmark occasion for a club that was playing in the eighth tier of English soccer when its new owners came along.

Giggs, the Nevilles, Scholes and Butt, along with business partner Peter Lim, completed the buyout of Salford in 2014. It was accompanied by the BBC docuseries “Class of ’92: Out of Their League,” which ran for two seasons. A follow-up series has run for seven seasons.

“We were six lads coming to a football club with another owner Peter, and we didn’t know what to do and how to run a football club,” CEO Butt has said.

Beckham, who had already taken on a co-ownership role with Inter Miami in MLS, bought a stake in Salford in 2019. The club won promotion to the English Football League that year and has remained there ever since.

Neville bought out Lim last year.

This season, Salford is pushing for promotion and is currently third in the standings.

But league matters will be pushed aside as the Cup takes center stage.

United beat City in last year's final to lift the trophy at Wembley Stadium — and its heroes of the past will aim to upset Pep Guardiola's team again.

While City has won back-to-back games in the league — nine losses in 13 games from October to the end of December has left the four-time defending Premier League champion 12 points off leader Liverpool and in danger of missing out on the knockout stages of the Champions League.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson