The soccer legend has formed a sports fund with private-equity firm Juggernaut Capital.
Legendary soccer player Gareth Bale has launched a new sports investment fund, and is still hoping to buy Wales-based soccer club Cardiff City despite being previously rebuffed, he told Front Office Sports.
The fund, which Bale is launching with private-equity firm Juggernaut Capital Partners, is called Juggernaut Diversified Sports. It will invest in teams and leagues in both men’s and women’s sports, including soccer clubs, as well as youth sports. The geographic focus will be North America and Europe. Juggernaut founder John Shulman wouldn’t share the size of the fund, but said it will be smaller than $1 billion, drawing a contrast between other recently launched megafunds that buy small stakes in pro teams that already have high valuations, and how Juggernaut aims to invest.
Bale, who played most of his career for Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, has been trying to buy Cardiff City for some time. Last summer, he told FOS a group he was involved with had submitted a second offer to buy the team after a prior offer was rejected. Financial details of his offers have not been disclosed, although the original bid was reportedly worth $54 million (£40 million).
As recently as April, a source familiar with the matter told FOS Bale’s most recent bid was still on the table, but the group hadn’t received any feedback from current owner Vincent Tan. “I don’t think that’s the end of it,” the source said at the time, noting Bale’s “interest and intent is still there.”
Bale would not commit to making a fresh bid for Cardiff, telling FOS he and Shulman need to look at potential club investments from a business perspective. Still, the Cardiff native admitted “there’s those heartstrings that pull there.”
“It’s about being patient, finding the right club, and the right path for us to take,” Bale said. “That doesn’t mean Cardiff is off the table. But I think now we have a bit of time, and will look around.”
Shulman said that on Monday the two of them are meeting with the owner of a different European soccer club.
Bale has a long list of accolades, including five Champions League titles and three LaLiga titles. He also played in MLS for Los Angeles Football Club in 2022, before retiring from professional soccer in 2023 at 33 years old.
Cardiff City currently plays in the EFL League One, the third tier of the English soccer system, after being relegated following a poor 2024–25 season in the EFL Championship. The top tier of English soccer is the well-known Premier League.
Juggernaut, formed in 2009, typically targets the consumer and healthcare sectors, with existing portfolio companies including CBD oils, gummies, and creams maker Bluebird Botanicals, and Continuum Health, which offers services like revenue management and tech support to healthcare companies. Before starting Juggernaut, Shulman was a managing director at Allied Capital Corp. for eight years.
The firm has invested in sports before, including current portfolio company 3 Step, which owns and manages youth sports teams, as well as previous portfolio company Mitchell & Ness, which makes sports apparel and was sold to Fanatics in 2022.
Shulman teased an upcoming investment in a women’s sports team that he couldn’t yet name.
Shulman said he and Bale feel they’re better prepared to build out a women’s sports platform than many other funds, noting they have already put money into large women’s recreational volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse investments.
“We’re within about 60 days of making our first investment into a professional women’s sports team,” Shulman said.
