More and more of sport and entertainment’s biggest names have been investing in EFL clubs – but not all takeovers go to plan.
Ryan Reynolds, Tom Brady, Michael B. Jordan and Luka Modric are just a few of the massive figures now involved in the Football League.
The latest to add to that ever-growing list potentially looks to be five-time Champions League winner Gareth Bale.
He was recently said to be spearheading an attempt to take over Plymouth Argyle, but it’s now reported that he’s working to buy Cardiff City.
A Bale-led consortium sent owner Vincent Tan a letter of intent in May, and despite that being rejected, the superstar is still very interested in his hometown club.
Of course, Cardiff will now be desperate for the deal to go through, as they will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Wrexham and Birmingham City in League One.
However, not all of these big-name takeovers go smoothly – just ask Doncaster Rovers.
In 2014, it was revealed that One Direction member and lifelong Doncaster fan, Louis Tomlinson, was taking over the club.
Tomlinson, who was at the height of his music career with the world-famous band that earned £45million in a year at the time, had partnered up with businessman John Ryan.
Doncaster, like Cardiff last season, had just been relegated from the Championship and were looking to bounce back.
The pair planned to raise £2million using Crowdfunder to put behind the club, and the purchase was close to being made official.
But only days before the ownership was set to be formalised, their takeover bid collapsed.
Tomlinson was just days away from taking over his boyhood club DoncasterGetty But the One Direction star and Ryan didn’t pass the EFL’s ownership testThings broke down as the duo failed to reach their crowdfunding target, only raising a total of £757,796 of their £2million goal.
After their failure to raise funds, Tomlinson and Ryan in turn failed the EFL’s ‘fit and proper person’ test for club ownership.
An EFL statement also confirmed that the pair hadn’t provided a business plan to support their takeover either.
It read: “In any club takeover, it is a requirement for the prospective purchaser to provide a business plan and to demonstrate that the funding is in place to deliver on that plan.
“In this case, this fundamental requirement has not yet been met.”
The test, which was first introduced in 2005, exists to ‘try and prevent Persons (both individuals and entities) that may have disqualifying events against them from being involved in or influencing the management or administration of football clubs’.
Doncaster may have gone on a different path if the takeover had gone throughGettyProspective owners must demonstrate how the club will operate over the upcoming period, while also showing how much money they have and where it has come from.
After missing out on their £2million target and losing out on all of their crowd-funded cash, Tomlinson and Ryan didn’t pass.
It was not a personal verdict on the One Direction star and businessman, but their lack of funds and business plan meant the EFL wouldn’t allow them to buy a club.
Speaking after the collapse of their takeover, Ryan said: “Our partnership hasn’t worked out.
“The crowdfunding was an absolute failure, but it’s been a combination of that and the Football League’s stance.
“I don’t want to go into details. I don’t want to go there.”
He also told BBC Radio Sheffield at the time: “The real problem is with the Football League.
“They have made it so difficult now that unless you have a bag full of cash, you are going to get turned down.”
Tomlinson then voiced his disappointment at the failure and revealed that he felt ‘misled’ by the takeover approach.
He wrote on social media: “I’m absolutely gutted the Doncaster Rovers deal is not going ahead. I am desperate for the club to be given the recognition it deserves.
“I was explicitly told that the deal to buy the club was not dependent on the money raised by Crowdfunding. Unfortunately, I was misled.
“My passion for Doncaster Rovers remains as strong as ever, and I hope that I can still be involved with the club moving forward.
Tomlinson believed that he would still complete the takeover without the funding“And to all the Doncaster Rovers fans, I will do all in my power to help the club succeed. I really do love the club.
“For the record, I insisted contractually I would never earn a penny from DRFC. I simply wanted to help club and community.”
Following the failed takeover, Doncaster would then go on a downward spiral, getting relegated to League Two in 2016.
Fortunately though, they bounced back straight away before spending another five years in League One.
Another relegation occurred in 2022, but their title win last season saw them breeze to promotion again.
It leaves them in a division that just saw Wrexham and Birmingham cruise to the Championship thanks to their world-famous investors.
They are two teams that are showcasing the rise that could well have happened to Doncaster if Tomlinson had taken over.
The Rovers will now come up against Cardiff next season, who may have Bale at the helm in their own big-money investment.
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