Former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has submitted a £40 million offer to purchase his boyhood club, Cardiff City.
The Welsh football icon is spearheading a consortium aiming to acquire a football club, following a previous but unsuccessful attempt to take over Plymouth Argyle.
Cardiff’s current owner, Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan, is reportedly willing to sell the club, which was relegated from the Championship to League One in May.
According to The Times, discussions are ongoing behind the scenes between Cardiff City and a private equity group based in the United States.
Meanwhile, The Sun reports that Bale’s consortium has now lodged an official bid, a figure that’s less than half of the £86 million Real Madrid paid to sign him from Spurs in 2013.
Speaking at the European premiere of F1, The Movie in London in late June, Bale, 35, publicly confirmed his intentions to invest in the club.
“We are interested in getting Cardiff. It’s my home club, it’s where I grew up and my uncle used to play for them,” he said.
“To be involved with an ownership group would be a dream come true. I would love to be able to be a part of growing Cardiff and taking it to the Premier League where it belongs.”
Bale was born in Cardiff in 1989. His uncle, Chris Pike, was a prolific striker for the Bluebirds from the year of Bale’s birth until 1993.
Reports indicated that the consortium’s initial bid was turned down by the club. However, they remain keen on acquiring the only team outside of England to have lifted the FA Cup – a feat achieved in 1927.
Cardiff City have had brief stints in the Premier League, featuring in the 2013–14 and 2018–19 seasons.
They’ve also been runners-up in three major English cup finals: the 1925 FA Cup final, the 2008 FA Cup final, and the 2012 Football League Cup final.
