The US consortium fronted by former Wales Captain Gareth Bale has submitted a new offer to buy Cardiff City that he has stated is “more than fair”.
Backed by US private equity group The Storch Family, the consortium had initially submitted its first offer to buy the club from owner Vincent Tan for a reported £40m. But Tan rejected the bid and is believed to be not considering a sale.
Despite this, Bale revealed to Front Office Sports they had recently submitted a new offer for the club. “It’s exciting news, we have a brand new offer on the table, it’s recently just gone in,” said Bale.
“We think it’s a great offer, one that we’re very happy with. We think it’s very fair, if not more than fair, and it’s something we hope the current owners will take serious. We’d love them to accept so we can take full control and get on with what we want to do and create Cardiff into a club that we know it can be.”
It is unclear as of today (July 11) what the figure of the improved bid is for Cardiff and the club have yet to make any official comment on Bale and the US consortium’s pursuit. It is also unknown what role Bale will play at Cardiff if the bid is accepted.
Insider Sport have reached out to Cardiff City for comment.
The former Real Madrid star had initially shown interest in buying League One club Plymouth Argyle, but this only resulted in early stage talks and subsequently collapsed.
This led to Bale and the US consortium turning their attention to Cardiff, Bale’s hometown and a club his uncle Chris Pike used to play for from 1989-1993. The five-time UEFA Champions League winner said to Sky Sports in June it would be a “dream come true” to become an owner of the club.
“We’ve been speaking about it (the takeover), trying to engage with Cardiff, but more news will come out on that in the future and hopefully we can get something done,” he said.
“So yeah, to be involved with an ownership group would be a dream come true. It’s a club close to my heart, it’s where I grew up. I would love to be able to be a part of growing Cardiff and taking it to the Premier League where it belongs.”
Cardiff are currently preparing to compete in League One for the 2025/26 season after being relegated from the Championship, finishing bottom of the table. This will be the first time in over 20 years the club have competed in the third tier of English football.
Since taking over the club in 2010, Tan has overseen two stints in the Premier League during the 2013/14 and 2018/19 seasons. The Malaysian multi-millionaire has invested up to £200m into the club since his acquisition, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, but now contends with losses and debts, with Tan last loaning out £117m in outstanding payments.
A model that works?
There has been major interest from US-based companies and celebrities in purchasing football clubs from the English Football League (EFL).
This trend famously began when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney acquired Wrexham in 2020, with the Hollywood duo guiding the club from the fifth-tier, to the second-tier of English football in just five years.
The success of Wrexham has caught the attention across the Atlantic, with Birmingham City being acquired by a US consortium led by NFL legend Tom Brady and Leeds United being bought by 49ers Enterprises, with sports stars like Jordan Spieth and Russell Westbrook owning stakes in the club.
This is not a model exclusive to US sports stars and celebrities however. Bale’s former Real Madrid and Tottenham teammate Luka Modrić recently acquired a stake in Swansea City and is part of the club’s new ownership group.
With Wrexham competing in the Championship next season, and Birmingham City recently promoted to the league also, it comes as no surprise the US private equity firm is making Bale the face of its push to buy Cardiff, being his hometown and an adored figurehead across Wales.
