Ex-Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt steps down as Salford CEO to pursue coaching opportunities

Nicky Butt has stepped down from his role as chief executive (CEO) of Salford City to pursue a return to coaching.

The former Manchester United midfielder, who took over the position in October 2022 from Gary Neville, said he has missed the hands-on aspect of player development and now plans to focus on securing an opportunity back in that area of the game.

Butt, a co-owner of Salford alongside his Class of 92 team-mates Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes, will remain an active shareholder and board director at the League Two club.

“Whilst I have enjoyed the day-to-day responsibilities of the chief executive role and discovered a huge amount about the challenges an EFL club faces away from the football pitch, I have recently realised how much I miss the coaching and development of players, and this has increased my desire to get back into that side of the game,” Butt said.

“Over the past few months there have been several exciting opportunities put forward to me that have put my focus back on coaching and on the grass. That being said I have always wanted to put Salford first, and we now have experienced executives within the senior management team here which means that I can step away from my current duties without any impact on current operations and it will be very much business as usual.”

Salford City confirms that Nicky Butt will step down from the role of Chief Executive Officer.

He will remain an active shareholder and Board Director and alongside the other members of the Class of 92, Nicky remains committed to continuing the growth of the club.

— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) October 15, 2024

Butt spent nearly a decade at United in various coaching roles, beginning in 2012 with the reserve team.

He later became head of the club’s academy in 2016, and filled in as interim coach of United’s Under-23 team. Butt also served as assistant to Ryan Giggs during the Welshman’s brief spell in charge of the men’s senior team, after the departure of David Moyes.

In 2019, Butt was appointed head of first-team development but left United in 2021.

Salford’s finance director Jonathan Jackson, meanwhile, will take over as interim CEO.

Salford have now spent five years in League Two, with their best finish coming in 2023 when they placed seventh and narrowly missed out on promotion after a play-off semi-final defeat to Stockport County.

However, they finished a disappointing 20th last season, with former manager Neil Wood being replaced mid-season by Karl Robinson. They are currently in 16th place.