Gareth Bale's plan to buy football club, staggering net worth and transfer ambitions

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Gareth Bale might have hung up his boots in 2023, but he'll be supporting his nation as they strive to reach this summer's World Cup . The legendary forward guided Wales to Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 qualification before leading them through to the knockout stages of both competitions.

Bale's swansong for his country came at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar . Following distinguished spells at Real Madrid and Tottenham throughout his club career, the 36-year-old brought the curtain down at Los Angeles FC with an abundance of trophies.

Nowadays, Bale channels his efforts into his numerous business pursuits and has ambitions of entering football ownership, with his hometown club, Cardiff City , the most appealing prospect.

Here, Mirror Football has all the latest on Bale's ventures in football, including where he is investing his substantial fortune.

Three years after retiring, Bale is reported to be worth an estimated £120million. The ex-winger was pocketing a staggering £600,000 a week at the height of his career at Madrid following a then-world-record £85m move from England to Spain.

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Yet his fortune doesn't solely derive from his income on the pitch. He launched his business portfolio whilst still playing, establishing a bar called Elevens in Cardiff's city centre in 2017. In March 2022, Bale subsequently launched Par 59, a golf-themed games bar, which opened its doors on St Mary Street in the Welsh capital.

A second venue bearing the same name opened in Bristol mere months afterwards, helping to bolster Bale's fortune even further.

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The former Spurs forward became a minority shareholder at Penderyn Distillery and also acquired a stake in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL golf league. Bale maintains lucrative sponsorship agreements with major brands including BMW, Adidas and PlayStation .

Bale initially revealed his ambition to acquire his hometown club, Cardiff City, in 2025. The Welshman joined an American consortium that expressed interest in the Bluebirds, which he confirmed at the F1 film premiere last June.

Speaking to Sky Sports , Bale said: "We are interested in getting Cardiff. 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."

A month afterwards, the group submitted an offer to owner Vincent Tan and described their proposal as "serious and fair," according to The Guardian. Whilst this takeover never came to fruition at the time, Bale revealed on The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast that he remains keen to own a football club.

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He said: "I understand it's a long time retired, I've been planning it since I was about 26 or 27. I always said when I retired that I wanted one, two, three years to decompress and enjoy with the kids, then try to find a few paths I want to go down.

"Obviously, you ( Gary Neville ) owning a football team, you understand the stresses of it. But we went and looked down that route. It's something that does interest me. We obviously tried with Cardiff last summer, which didn't materialise. And they are doing amazing again this season!"

If the takeover had been successful for Cardiff, Bale disclosed that he intended to propel the League One side straight to the Premier League. He said: "It's a club close to my heart.

"It's where I grew up 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."