Gareth Bale was reportedly linked to Plymouth Argyle. This week’s focus is on Cardiff City and his role in a spectacular bid to buy his hometown club.
Gareth Bale is apparently interested in purchasing Cardiff City as the leader of a syndicate of investors. The Welsh legend’s initial proposal was rejected by owner Vincent Tan, but he still has a’strong interest’ in completing a buyout, according to The Athletic.
Bale, 35, was born in Cardiff, and his uncle, Chris Pike, was a prolific striker for the club from 1989 to 1993. It comes only weeks after his former Real Madrid and Tottenham teammate Luka Modric purchased a minority share in rivals Swansea City for an estimated £1 million.
If a deal including Bale goes through, it will top off a weird year for Cardiff, who were hoping to return to the Premier League a year ago but were relegated to League One after going through three managers.
Bale retired in January 2023, just seven months after joining LAFC, capping off a spectacular career that included five Champions League victories, three LaLiga titles, and three Club World Cups. However, he would face a challenge at Cardiff, who will play in League One for the first time since 2002-03 after finishing bottom of the Championship.
Brian Barry-Murphy has been hired as head coach following a catastrophic season that saw them replace Erol Bulut, Omer Riza, and Aaron Ramsey (interim) as managers.
Tan, who became the main owner in 2010, expressed his desire to stay at the start of the year.
Following relegation, the multimillionaire billionaire, who is headquartered in Malaysia, issued a statement on the club’s website.
“We hear your words and I share your hurt and frustration,” he posted on Facebook.
“Not all of the decisions I’ve made for the First Team have gone as planned. “Losing our place in the Championship is upsetting.”
The key thing is that we restore it as soon as possible, and I’d like to use this opportunity to assure you that I am fully committed to getting us back.” Bale retired as Wales’ most goalscorer and most capped player in its history.
He began his career in England as a left-back at Southampton before joining Tottenham in 2007 for £5 million.
His efforts in north London would eventually earn him a world record move to Real Madrid for £85.3 million in 2013.
In his debut season at the club, Bale scored 22 goals in all competitions, helping Madrid win their first Champions League title in almost a decade.
He went on to win the trophy four more times, cementing his place as one of the most decorated sportsmen in history.
Also in his first season at Madrid, Bale scored a historic goal in the Copa Del Rey final, running the length of the pitch to score late against Barcelona.
His most memorable moment in a Madrid shirt occurred four years later, in the 2018 Champions League final. He scored two goals that day, including a spectacular bicycle kick, to help his team defeat Liverpool.
Despite his heroics on the pitch for Madrid, some supporters had conflicting sentiments about his efforts at the Santiago Bernabeu, which resulted in his being loaned out in 2020.
Bale returned to Tottenham Hotspur eight years after departing and scored an incredible 16 goals in 34 games.
Despite this, it was insufficient to revive his career in Spain, and in 2022, the forward joined MLS club Los Angeles FC, where he retired.
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