Huge Cardiff City takeover news involving Gareth Bale & Vincent Tan - Plymouth Argyle truth also revealed | OneFootball

A consortium led by Gareth Bale are looking to purchase League One side Cardiff City...

In a sensational twist, it has emerged that Wales legend Gareth Bale is leading a consortium to purchase hometown club Cardiff City - although an initial proposal has been rebuffed by Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan.

As reported on Friday evening by David Ornstein of The Athletic, Bale's consortium have expressed their desire to buy Cardiff following the club's relegation to League One at the end of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.

This proposal is said to have been rejected, but interest from Bale's side remains strong ahead of what promises to be an intriguing saga behind the scenes.

Cardiff supporters have been increasingly eager to see long-standing owner Tan sanction the sale of the club to the right buyer in recent times.

The Bluebirds have had a significant turnover of both managers and players in the last few years and spent three of the last four Championship campaigns battling against relegation before finally dropping to the third-tier for the first time in more than 20 years at the end of April.

Tan, who controversially rebranded Cardiff back in 2011 in an unpopular decision which saw both the club's home colours and badge changed to red, has ploughed significant investment into the Bluebirds. That investment was quoted as being in excess of £200 million back in 2022, with Cardiff still heavily reliant on the Malaysian businessman.

As per The Athletic's report, Bale's consortium sent a letter of intent to Tan last month, which expressed their desire to purchase the Bluebirds and included undisclosed financial numbers.

The first proposal was reportedly rejected by Tan, although Bale's interest in purchasing his hometown club is said to remain strong.

This comes after separate reports earlier in the week claimed that Bale was part of a US-based consortium looking to buy League One rivals Plymouth Argyle, who suffered relegation from the Championship alongside Cardiff last season.

However, The Athletic has now revealed that Bale is not currently in the frame to purchase Plymouth, as the Home Park outfit continue to search for fresh investment and a successor at the helm to Simon Hallett.

Cardiff City fans will hope Gareth Bale seals Vincent Tan purchase

This is, of course, seismic news in the Welsh capital, with Tan having come under increased scrutiny alongside Mehmet Dalman (chairman) and Ken Choo (chief executive) in recent months.

Although Cardiff finally put an end to their extensive managerial search this week by appointing Brian Barry-Murphy as Omer Riza's successor nearly two months after his dismissal back in April, supporters still hold concerns about a perceived lack of footballing nous, expertise and overarching strategy at boardroom level, with the absence of a listed sporting or technical director a notable sticking point.

These issues have led to a number of fan-led protests and open letters penned to the club, with the Bluebirds fanbase continuing to bang the drum for significant strategic change at boardroom level.

That change, however, could well come in the form of new owners entirely, and Bale's presence at the club could be transformative after the ex-Real Madrid sensation held talks over a shock move to Cardiff back in 2022 before deciding to sign for MLS outfit LAFC.

Indeed, the Bluebirds could follow suit from bitter Welsh rivals Swansea City, where Bale's ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Madrid teammate Luka Modrić recently became a co-owner.

Although the level of investment Bale himself - let alone his consortium - would be able to offer remains unclear, the prospect of fresh ownership despite Tan's initial rebuff will be received as a cause for positivity and excitement by supporters.