The Sun

GARETH BALE has confirmed he wants to buy Cardiff - and take his hometown club back to the Premier League.

The Wales legend is leading a consortium interested in taking over the League One side and opened up about his plans at the premiere of F1: The Movie.

Bale, who retired from football two years ago after a spell with Los Angeles FC, saw an initial bid rejected by Bluebirds owner Vincent Tan.

But Bale is still dreaming a takeover can be successful.

He said on the red carpet: "We are interested in getting Cardiff.

"It's my home (town) 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.

"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."

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Bale, who had a glittering at Tottenham and Real Madrid, had been linked with a takeover at Plymouth Argyle.

He led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958 as well as appearing at two Euros finals, including the incredible run to the 2016 semi-finals.

Bale is also his nation's most-capped player on 111 caps and record goalscorer after netting 41 times.

Bale’s interest in investing in Cardiff comes just weeks after ex-Spurs and Real team-mate Luka Modric became a co-owner of south Wales rivals Swansea.

Cardiff appointed Brian Barry-Murphy recently ahead of their first campaign in the third tier since 2003.

After Omer Riza was sacked in April, Wales star Aaron Ramsey was interim boss for three games but Bale’s close pal is set for a move to continue his playing career in Mexico.

EBERECHI EZE is interested in spearheading Thomas Frank's Tottenham revolution.

New Spurs boss Frank wants to sign a new wideman this summer and Crystal Palace star Eze is a major target.

But the Dane faces competition for the England man's services, as SunSport understands a few other clubs are keen.

Sources suggest that while it is not guaranteed Eze, 26, leaves Selhurst Park this summer, there is a very good chance it will happen.

And the prospect of playing for Spurs in the Champions League is one that appeals to the versatile winger.

Tottenham have been tracking Eze for years.

His stock has risen with every season since joining Palace from QPR five years ago, culminating with his FA Cup final-winning goal over Manchester City in May.

He also netted twice in Palace’s 2-0 win at Spurs seven days prior to that Wembley triumph.

Eze is believed to have a release clause of around £60million in his Eagles contract.

But insiders claim it comes with “complex” conditions involving how the fee is paid.

New Spurs boss Thomas Frank would love to sign a new winger this summer, especially if captain and Saudi Pro League target Son Heung-min leaves the club.

There is serious interest in Man Utd target Bryan Mbeumo, who scored 20 Premier League goals under Frank at Brentford last term, though the suggestion of a bid having been put in already has been played down.

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Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo is also appreciated.

Whether Spurs, who turned Mathys Tel’s loan permanent for £30m earlier this month, would have the funds to buy both Mbeumo and Eze remains to be seen.

TOTTENHAM flop Clinton Njie has hit a new career low - with a Romanian club ripping up his contract.

The Cameroon striker joined Spurs from Lyon for £8.3million in 2015.

However, he failed to start a single Premier League game and remained goalless in 14 senior appearances.

Njie went on to play for Marseille, Dynamo Moscow and Turkish club Sivasspor before moving to Rapid Bucharest last September.

He signed a deal until 2026, with the Romanians announcing him in a bizarre video alongside former US president Bill Clinton.

But Njie made just a dozen appearances, scoring twice, and has not played for the capital city side since February 2.

They have now parted company with the 31-year-old, who has won 42 Cameroon caps.

Rapid issued a terse statement on social media.

They announced: "FC Rapid and Cameroonian striker Clinton Njie reached an amicable agreement for the termination of the collaboration.

"Thank you, Clinton! Good luck in your career."

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Njie said: "I thank everyone at Rapid for this period, colleagues, staff and supporters.

"It was an intense experience, in a club with a special history and atmosphere.

"I wish the boys the best of luck next season, and I hope Rapid gets where it deserves to be."

Rapid finished sixth in Romania's Liga 1. They last won the national title in 2003.

To add to Njie's woes, a French court has ordered him to pay a car rental firm £56,000.

TOTTENHAM reportedly launched an enquiry for Antoine Semenyo before immediately halting their pursuit of the Bournemouth star.

New Spurs boss Thomas Frank is eager to add a dazzling attacker to his forward line this summer.

And Semenyo, 25, emerged as a target after Tottenham also put Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo on their shortlist.

The Bees’ French forward netted 20 Premier League goals last term.

But despite the opportunity to reunite with Frank in north London, Mbeumo reportedly favours a £60m move to Manchester United.

Semenyo then became the clear alternative after also proving himself to be a goal menace when cutting inside on his left foot.

The Athletic claims Tottenham even went so far as to contact Bournemouth over a move for their Ghanaian winger, who netted 13 goals and bagged seven assists in 42 games this term.

However, the Cherries have already seen their squad ravaged by big sides this summer.

Dean Huijsen joined Real Madrid for £50million last month, while fellow defender Illya Zabarnyi could be off to Paris Saint-Germain for around £60m.

Milos Kerkez has also agreed a £40m switch to Premier League champs Liverpool.

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And with forwards always carrying a premium, it’s claimed that Bournemouth told Tottenham to pay £70m for Semenyo.

The mind-blowing fee was immediately rebuffed Spurs, who have decided to not pursue a deal for now.

They will continue to scour the market for a new right-sided forward at a better price.

But should Tottenham fail to secure an alternative, they could come back for Semenyo later in the transfer window.

The former Bristol City and Sunderland man still has four years to run on his Cherries contract.

And Semenyo is also on the shortlist at Man United, who could move should they end up losing Mbeumo to Spurs.

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HEUNG-MIN SON is being lined up for a blockbuster move by Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

After a mostly dismal campaign, the Tottenham captain, 32, could bid farewell to the club after 10 years, with only one year left on his contract, though Spurs will not be letting him go cheaply.

According to Turkish reporter Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, he could be set to reunite with former boss Jose Mourinho.

A face-to-face meeting between player and manager to discuss a potential move is said to have taken place, with the pair believed to have maintained a strong relationship, though the Istanbul club may need to part with at least £25million to get their man.

SunSport understands that the player is open to a move, with the historic Europa League triumph viewed as a perfect way to depart on a positive note.

The duo linked up for eighteen months at Spurs, where Son enjoyed great success, bagging 22 league goals in 51 appearances under Mourinho, even scooping the Puskas Award during his tenure.

The Portuguese manager would be yearning for this form to return if a move is completed, after watching Fenerbahce's fierce city rivals Galatasaray clinch a third straight Super Lig title.

Mourinho's club are keen to make a splash in the market, and were recently been linked to Man City outcast Kyle Walker.

But as exclusively reported by SunSport, it appears the England right-back is instead heading to Merseyside to work under David Moyes at Everton.

Fenerbahce have though already agreed the £10m permanent transfer of former Manchester United flop Sofyan Amrabat for the start of the window.

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Whilst rumours are also circling that Santos megastar Neymar could join, according to French outlet L'Equipe, in what would be a head-turning deal.

However, any move for Heung-Min Son may have to wait.

Spurs are desperate to hang on to Son for their lucrative pre-season trip to Asia to honour agreements with tour organisers, due to the star's huge continental presence and significant commercial value he brings to the club.

If Son were to depart prior to this, a breach of contract with organisers could leave the possibility of a sizeable financial penalty being slapped upon the North London outfit, meaning a swift resolution over the player's future is improbable.

It is also understood that the player is the subject of interest from three Saudi Pro League clubs.

Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah are all looking to swoop for the South Korean star, with a potential transfer saga now firmly on the cards.

This could hurt Fenerbahce 's hopes of getting a deal over the line.

DANIEL LEVY wants more European glory for Tottenham and has targeted winning the Champions League.

The bullish Spurs chairman is also eyeing a Premier League title after declaring last month’s Europa League triumph as “not enough” to satisfy the club’s sky-high ambitions.

Levy backed his call to sack Ange Postecoglou - the man who ended the club’s 17-year trophy drought - and hailed replacement Thomas Frank as a “super human-being”.

The supremo, 63, declared: “We’ve won a European trophy, but it’s not enough. It’s what we haven’t done that’s more important.

“We need to win the league. We want to win the Premier League, we want to win the Champions League.”

Levy is into his 25th year of running Spurs, having won just two trophies in that time.

Postecoglou delivered the most recent of those by beating Manchester United in last month’s final in Bilbao, qualifying Spurs for the Champions League.

But the Aussie, 59, became the 13th permanent boss to be fired by Levy after a disastrous 17th-placed finish in the Premier League.

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The club then turned to Brentford chief Frank, 51, who new Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham said was “absolutely the No1” choice out of a list of more than 30 candidates.

Speaking in an in-house interview alongside ex-Arsenal supremo Venkatesham, Levy added: “We want to build on the success of winning a trophy last season.

“One of the things that stood out to me with Thomas is he’s clearly highly intelligent, a great communicator, a super human-being, plus all the other technical aspects which are obviously important.”

Levy, who has had supporters taking to the streets protesting against his running of the club this season, claimed he had “very broad shoulders” to deal with criticism and that “failure is not an option”.

He claimed it was not his decision alone to fire Postecoglou and insists he still has an “excellent relationship” with the ex-Celtic boss.

The highest-paid director in the Premier League added: “I’m very grateful to Ange. I don’t regret appointing Ange.

“In his first season we finished fifth. In our second season, we were over the moon to win a trophy.

“But we need to compete in all competitions and we felt we needed to change.

“I’ve got an excellent relationship with him. I told him, ‘You’re always going to be part of our history’. Himself and his family are always welcome back.

“It was a collective decision, it wasn’t my decision. We do everything together.

“Emotionally it was difficult, but we believe we’ve made the right decision for the club.”

Levy also insisted that any funds brought in by the club’s non-football use of the stadium - such as pop concerts, NFL matches and boxing fights, is for reinvesting in the team.

He added: “We’re very proud of the stadium, but we need to win on the pitch. There’s no point in having a wonderful stadium if you haven’t got a wonderful team winning.

“The reason we do all these other events is to provide additional financial resources to the club which in turn, goes back into the team. Everything is about the team, everything.”

Meanwhile, it is understood Tottenham are not planning to sell goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario this summer despite suggestions of interest from AC Milan emerging from Italy.

MANCHESTER UNITED flop Andre Onana has reportedly been urging Bryan Mbeumo to snub Tottenham and move to Old Trafford.

The Brentford star is a wanted man this summer after banging in 20 Premier League goals.

Mbeumo, 25, has become a £60million target for United as boss Ruben Amorim shakes up his front line.

The Red Devils are already £62.5m down after buying Wolves star Matheus Cunha.

And earlier this month they saw a £45m bid for Mbeumo knocked back by Brentford.

But since then, much has changed.

The Bees have seen manager Thomas Frank depart for Tottenham as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement.

And he now wants to bring Mbeumo to north London in a big-money deal.

As a result, United face a major fight to land the left-footer.

But the Manchester Evening News claims Mbeumo still favours a move up north.

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And Amorim has goalie Onana to thank, as the flop has been spending his free time selling United’s vision to Mbeumo.

Both players are regulars for Cameroon’s international side and have become firm friends over the years.

Onana remains convinced about Amorim’s project despite question marks over his own future.

And that has tipped the scales in United’s favour, despite Spurs “aggressively pursuing” Mbeumo as a marquee signing.

Red Devils fans reacted to the news in hilarious style, with one declaring: “It’s the only good thing Onana’s done for the club.”

Another said: “Love you Onana.”

One noted: “Onana doesn’t know he’s the first to leave.”

Another added: “He’s probably not the best advert.”

Mbeumo himself is remaining calm about the situation.

When asked about his future while at the Canadian Grand Prix, he told Sky Sports: “It’s a bit new for me. I think it can be the life of a footballer and you need to accept it.”

TOTTENHAM star Manor Solomon is stuck in Israel during the conflict with Iran.

Solomon, 25, flew back to his homeland to get married.

He tied the knot with partner Dana Voshina on Thursday, six days after starting for Israel in their World Cup qualifier win away at Estonia.

The happy couple celebrated their wedding day by sharing a series of photos and videos from the joyful occasion.

The Israeli couple have been together since 2018 and were all smiles as they made their vows before throwing an amazing party with friends and family.

However, SunSport understands the newlyweds remain stranded in Israel.

Flights out of the danger zone have been blocked with the military shutting down the airspace until June 30 as attacks continue into a fourth day since Israel launched the bombardment of Iran on Friday.

On Sunday, an Israeli strike killed the chief of Iran's armed forces intelligence unit.

Iran state 224 people have been killed in attacks since Friday while 24 people have lost their lives in Israel.

The British Foreign Office has put Israel on the “red list”, advising against all travel.

The scary incident comes three years after Solomon and political science student Voshina had to be evacuated out of Ukraine by the Israeli government.

The winger was playing for Shakhtar Donetsk when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Solomon joined Tottenham in 2023 after impressing on loan at Fulham but has played just six times for the North London club and spent last season on load at Leeds, scoring ten goals in 39 Championship games to help Daniel Farke's side secure promotion.

Solomon is not the only footballer caught up in the Israel-Iran fighting.

Champions League finalist Mehdi Taremi got stuck in Tehran after the Iranian and Inter Milan striker returned to Iran for international duty.

But after the World Cup qualifiers, he had been due to arrive in Los Angeles to link up with team-mates for theClub World Cup.

However, missile attacks on Iranian military and nuclear targets by the Israeli government saw the airspace in the country closed.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU is giving serious consideration to a Saudi Pro League switch.

The Aussie was ruthlessly axed earlier this month despite finally ending Tottenham's trophy hoodoo.

And Postecoglou, 59,. is already in demand having been approached by Al-Ahli, who will be in the market for a new manager if current chief Matthias Jaissle leaves.

German Jaissle’s future remains in doubt despite guiding the Jeddah outfit - who have England striker Ivan Toney up front - to the AFC Champions League title last month.

And Postecoglou is currently mulling over the prospect of a lucrative switch to Saudi.

The Europa League-winning boss has already had interest from other clubs in England and on the continent.

He is understood to favour another crack at the Premier League should the opportunity arise.

And Postecoglou not rush a decision over his future despite the lucrative proposal from the Middle East.

The popular coach ended Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought last month by beating Manchester United in Bilbao.

But he was still sacked just 16 days later, with Thomas Frank appointed as his successor on Thursday.

The Asutralian manager penned an emotional message to Spurs after it was confirmed he would leaving the club.

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He said: "When I reflect on my time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, my overriding emotion is one of pride.

"The opportunity to lead one of England's historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime.

"Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget.

"That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream."