Cardiff owner opens up on Gareth Bale talks and deal falling through

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has spoken at length about the deal which would have potentially seen Gareth Bale join the Championship club.

Wales superstar Bale left Real Madrid at the end of last season after nine trophy-laden years. After much deliberation and rumours, Bale eventually revealed his decision to join MLS outfit Los Angeles FC last weekend. He posted a promotional video with the caption: "See you soon, Los Angeles."

It brought to an end the possibility of him joining the Bluebirds, his hometown club. Despite the huge disparity between what Bale earned at Madrid and what the Championship side could realistically offer him, owner Tan says his club came up with a "good offer" for the 32-year-old.

He adds that ultimately LA's offer "was too big to turn down".

"We were very very keen, he would have been a big coup for us," Tan told talkSPORT. "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."

Bale has agreed a 12-month contract with the option of a further year on both sides. He will complete his move when the secondary MLS transfer window opens on July 7. He could make his debut against LA Galaxy a day later.

The season in the States is set to finish shortly before this year's World Cup in Qatar - where ironically Bale is set to lead the line against the US in their opening group game. Wales' first taste of the tournament since 1958 also sees them face England and Iran.

Other players on the books of LAFC include former Arsenal starlet Carlos Vela and Euro 2020 winner Giorgio Chiellini. The latter was confirmed as a new signing after making more than 500 appearances for Juventus.

Former United States international defender Steve Cherundolo took over as head coach for the 2022 season after the team missed out on the domestic play-offs last season. However, they have made a fast start this term and hold a narrow lead at the top of the Western Conference.