Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville is the latest sports star to join Declan Kelly’s financial advisory firm Consello Group as it expands into sectors including sports and entertainment.
The company was launched in January 2023 and has already brought on as partners NFL legend Tom Brady, multiple Grand Slam tennis winner Serena Williams and former Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol, a six-time NBA all-star.
“I’ve always said that at some point I want to be laser-focused and to do things that are slightly different to what I’ve always done,” Neville told Bloomberg News in an interview about his new role.
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Neville is now a well-known football broadcaster and has played a prominent role in the European sports landscape, including as a vocal opponent to the European Super League it was proposed in 2021.
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New York-based Consello was founded by Declan Kelly, now its chairman and chief executive, who formerly led the global consulting and global public relations firm Teneo. Neville said the pair first met in Doha at the 2022 World Cup.
Consello concentrates on mergers and acquisitions advice, investment banking, investing, growth and business development, and digital-assets advisory.
Asked if he would be as outspoken in business as he sometimes has been on TV, Neville called his broadcast persona “different to the one in the boardroom”.
“On TV it’s about passion and entertainment,” he said.
He’s also been a co-owner of Salford City Football Club, which competes in the fourth rung of the English football league system, but gave up his full-time role at the club in 2022, leaving what he called “a small void”.
Neville will be a partner in Consello’s Strive unit, which focuses on the convergence of sports, entertainment and leadership development.
“Having worked in professional sports, media and entertainment for more than 30 years, I’ve seen first-hand how this world is evolving through technological innovation, content globalisation, and the increasing role of institutional investment,” he said. — Bloomberg
