Despite a solid second half of the season under Miron Muslic, Plymouth were relegated from the Championship last season, ending a two-year stint in the second division.
| 2024-25 Championship table | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 17 | Oxford United | 46 | -16 | 53 |
| 18 | Stoke City | 46 | -17 | 51 |
| 19 | Derby County | 46 | -8 | 50 |
| 20 | Preston North End | 46 | -11 | 50 |
| 21 | Hull City | 46 | -10 | 49 |
| 22 | Luton Town (R) | 46 | -24 | 49 |
| 23 | Plymouth Argyle (R) | 46 | -37 | 46 |
| 24 | Cardiff City (R) | 46 | -25 | 44 |
After Muslic left to take over at German club Schalke last month, the Pilgrims named ex-Watford manager Tom Cleverley as their new head coach on Friday, and they have already signed four new players this summer in Jack MacKenzie, Caleb Watts, Bradley Ibrahim, and Jamie Paterson.
Argyle owner Simon Hallett had been in talks with potential new investors, but he disclosed last month that the proposed sale had collapsed. According to The Telegraph, Bale is being lined up to lead a US-based private equity group’s effort to buy the club.
Plymouth and the investment group are currently discussing a possible full takeover of the club. If an agreement is reached, Bale will follow in the footsteps of his former Real Madrid teammates, Luka Modrić, who recently became a co-owner of Championship side Swansea City.
After a dazzling playing career in which he scored 106 goals in 258 games and won 15 major trophies with Madrid, many have questioned why Bale wants to help buy a League One team, but we looked at three compelling reasons why the 35-year-old wants to be involved with the Pilgrims.
Wrexham and Birmingham City achievements
Not long ago, rumors that a club could be taken over by someone of Bale’s caliber would have elicited a negative reaction from fans, but high-profile investment has grown increasingly common in the EFL in recent years.
Wrexham were in the National League only two years ago, but they achieved a historic third consecutive promotion to the Championship last season as their meteoric rise continues under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, while Birmingham City won League One with an EFL-record total of 111 points last season, with NFL legend Tom Brady on the club’s board.
The Red Dragons and Blues are set to be among the largest spenders outside the Premier League this summer as they seek to establish themselves in the second division, but they are making headlines for reasons other than their football performance.
With Reynolds and McElhenney at the helm, Wrexham has been able to reach a new global audience thanks to their Welcome to Wrexham documentary, which recently returned for a fourth season, and Birmingham announced earlier this year that their own Amazon Prime documentary telling the club’s promotion story will be released this summer.
With Bale on board, Plymouth could potentially follow in the pair’s footsteps, and the former Welsh international will undoubtedly be drawn to the football and economic opportunities afforded by such a takeover.
Potential for future Plymouth Argyle success
While Plymouth are not one of the major clubs in English football, there is no denying that they have great potential.
The Pilgrims advanced from League Two to the Championship in just four years, from 2019 to 2023, demonstrating what is possible at Home Park under the right ownership. While the club did announce a five-year plan to compete for promotion to the Premier League, it has become clear that achieving that goal will be difficult without additional investment.
If Bale and the American consortium take over at Argyle, they will inherit an incredibly well-run club with excellent infrastructure, a recently renovated stadium, and a devoted fan base, which, with a fresh cash injection and an ambitious ownership model, could quickly become a real force.
Plymouth is now England’s largest city without a top-flight football team, but the opportunity to change that will be intriguing to Bale.
Opportunity to rebuild after relegation to League One
Of all, takeovers can be time-consuming, and even if talks between Plymouth and the US-based investment company proceed smoothly, there is no certainty that a transaction would be completed before the start of the new season.
However, if an agreement can be struck in the coming months, it might be the ideal time for new owners to take control at Home Park, giving them the opportunity to rebuild the Pilgrims following their relegation to League One.
While Bale and the consortium will undoubtedly have lofty ambitions for Argyle, starting their reign away from the pressures of the Championship could be beneficial for them, as it has been for Birmingham this season, with the Blues’ exciting project gaining traction in League One after some poor football decisions from the new board saw them relegated the previous year.
With Cleverley as Plymouth’s youthful and skilled head coach and the core of a quality squad already in place, the prospective new owners would have a solid foundation to build on as they prepare to launch their own daring long-term ambition.
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