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Gareth Bale will spearhead an attempted takeover of Plymouth Argyle, according to reports. The Tottenham and Real Madrid legend will be working with a private equity firm based in the United States. The Telegraph claim Plymouth and the investment group are in talks, with the latter eyeing full control of the League One side. Bale's involvement comes after his ex-Madrid teammate Luka Modric became a minority owner at Championship outfit Swansea City. It's been tough for Plymouth over the last year amid relegation from the Championship by finishing 23rd in the 2024/25 season. They begrudgingly had to let manager Miron Muslic join Schalke, with Tom Cleverley appointed as his replacement. Former Manchester United midfielder Cleverley has taken his second job in management following a stint at Watford. He has become the seventh manager to take the Plymouth hotseat since owner Simon Hallett became the majority shareholder in 2018. Derek Adams was already in post when Hallett arrived, then followed by Ryan Lowe and Steven Schumacher. Ian Foster, Wayne Rooney and Muslic were the next three to fill the vacancy before Cleverley was announced last week. In May, Hallett wrote to Plymouth fans and commented on potential investment ahead of their 2025/26 League One campaign. "We have been in talks with a prospective new investor in our club for over a year, " he said. "Those talks led to an application for approval of that investment being lodged with the EFL in February. Unfortunately, negotiations have taken too long and the key information that both we and the EFL required to complete the deal has not been forthcoming. "I no longer believe that news of the new investor is imminent. " Hallett then added: "As a result, existing shareholders [I, Argyle Green and the Holliday family] will provide the funds to ensure that we stay on course with our plans. "This means making funds available to ensure we have a competitive football budget to aim to return us to the Championship as soon as possible, as well as continued investment in Foulston Park. "Our budget next season will be twice that we had the last time we were in League One. These additional funds equate to the same level of financial support that was written into the investor plan for year one. " © 2025 talk SPORT Limited
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