Robbie Williams is reportedly attempting to buy his hometown football club Port Vale and make a TV show about the experience.
Williams grew up in Stoke-on-Trent and has been a longtime Port Vale fan, and a new report from The Sun suggests that he could table a formal bid for control of the club.
A source said: “It’s really early days, but Robbie’s been formally approached to see if he’s interested in fronting a bid. Port Vale remains one of his greatest loves, and it’s always been a dream to be more involved.
“He’s had a couple of meetings, and his backers are incredibly excited. They feel Rob would add the star quality, and make Port Vale a major player. Seeing what Ryan and Rob have done with Wrexham — the increased footfall, merchandise sales and general profile build — is inspiring. Port Vale fans love Robbie and, on paper, it’s a match made in heaven.”
If he were to make the purchase, Williams would follow in the footsteps of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who purchased Wrexham AFC and made the hugely successful and ongoing TV series Welcome To Wrexham out of the experience.
Elsewhere, in November Williams paid tribute to a fan who died after a fall during his concert in Sydney. Robyn Hall died on November 20 after falling down six rows of seats at the Allianz Stadium.
Before he performed 1997 hit single ‘Angels’ he told the crowd: “I heard the news, the tragic news this week that a fan died in an accident after the show in Sydney and I feel after all the years that I am you and you are me and we are each other when we come together.
“So when something happens like this it breaks my heart. I’ve been thinking about it an awful lot, and I thought about it all the way through the show tonight. I just want to give a big shout-out and lots of love from me and my band to Robyn and Robyn’s family. Let’s all sing up, she was somebody just like you that came to the gig just like you did tonight. And I think she deserves a big song and tonight this is for her.”
Williams is also the subject of a new Netflix documentary which was released late last year.