‘He really wanted to come’ Cardiff City owner reveals why Gareth Bale turned down hometown move

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has revealed that despite the Championship side’s interest in Gareth Bale, the offer from LAFC was simply too good for the Welshman to turn down.

Bale left Real Madrid this summer when his contract ended, and speculation arose that he was in talks with Championship side Cardiff as he looked to find regular football before the World Cup, where he would lead Wales out at the tournament for the first time since 1958.

However, that speculation was short-lived, with the 32-year-old ultimately opting for a move to the MLS to join LAFC instead, where he will be playing alongside fellow former free agent Giorgio Chiellini.

See you soon, Los Angeles. 👊 @LAFC @LAFC3252 pic.twitter.com/GVP8WVWLPe

— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) June 25, 2022

Now, speaking to TalkSport, Vincent Tan has explained the reasoning behind the move and why, ultimately, a move to Cardiff fell through.

“We were very very keen, he would have been a big coup for us,” Tan explained. “It would have been great for Gareth Bale to play for his hometown, all the Welsh would be very happy if Gareth Bale returned home and played for Cardiff. Personally, I think LAFC’s offer was too attractive for him to turn down. But originally he really wanted to come, the money wasn’t the matter.

“We came up with what we thought was a good offer to him, but finally it was very hard to compete when there is a lot of big American advertisers, a lot of commercial deals which were very good for Gareth Bale.

We tried our best but we failed. Initially with Gareth, it wasn’t really the money, he just wanted to help Cardiff and help Wales. That’s why we could negotiate with him. He tried his best to join us but eventually I think the offer from LAFC was just too big to turn down.”