Gareth Bale makes £40m takeover offer for Cardiff after breaking silence on bid

An official bid has been made for Cardiff City by a consortium fronted by Wales legend Gareth Bale. The Cardiff-native has launched a £40million offer for his hometown club despite Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan indicating he will not sell the club to the former Real Madrid star's group.

Bale, 35, is said to be backed by US investors in hoping to acquire the club who were relegated from the Championship to League One at the end of last season.

The side, who were in the Premier League as recently as 2019, failed to maintain their place in the Championship to move into the third tier for the first time in more than 20 years. While that is reported to have prompted a bid, Tan is said to consider it derisory having invested more than £200m into the club.

The £40m offer is likely to see an instant rejection, per the Times. Bale's consortium have already been associated with a failed bid to purchase Plymouth Argyle.

The private equity group's bid is not even half of the fee paid for Bale by Real Madrid in 2013. Tan was part of a Malaysian consortium that initially made a £5m investment for 30 per cent of Cardiff City before becoming the majority shareholder and steadily increasing his stake to 98 per cent by 2013.

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Following a career where he played for Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and LA FC, Bale announced his retirement from professional football following the 2022 World Cup. While famed for his interest in golf, Bale appears happy to return to football in a new capacity.

“We are interested in getting Cardiff,” Bale told Sky Sports last month. “It’s my home club, it’s where I grew up and my uncle used to play for them.

"To be involved with an ownership group would be a dream come true. It is a club close to my heart and I would love to be able to be a part of growing Cardiff and taking it to the Premier League where it belongs.

“I know how amazing the Welsh fans and Cardiff fans are. It would be amazing to try and do something together.

"We are trying to engage with Cardiff and more news will come out on that in the future, but hopefully we can get something done."

Bale was present for the BMW International Open 2025 pro-am at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried earlier this week. After already being part of the fields at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Alfred Dunhill Links, Bale made his third appearance in Munich alongside the likes of Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

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