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Championship: Vincent Tan remains optimistic at Cardiff City despite problems

Image: Vincent Tan: Cardiff City owner

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan admits he is unsure if he would have taken control of the club if he knew of the issues he would face in his time in charge.

He also told Sky Sports News HQ’s Jim White in Kuala Lumpur that he has no regrets about changing the club's colour from blue to red.

Tan said: “Maybe if I'd known it was so difficult and all the problems that we'd face, maybe I wouldn't have invested.

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Vincent Tan spoke to Jim White in Kuala Lumpur, revealing the amount he's spent and why he changed the club colours from blue to red.

“But having said that, it's a challenge and I believe that eventually all this will end well, and I believe I can make this investment profitable.

“All my friends think I'm crazy and think that it's impossible to make it profitable, but time will tell.

“(I’ve invested) £160/170million. Most people know I put in £6million when my business partner Mr Chang became a director of Cardiff in 2010. He persuaded me and said the club were doing well and going to make the play-offs and all I'd need to invest was £6million.

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“But after the £6million, they actually got to the playoffs against Blackpool at Wembley and that was actually the first football match in my life and after that I got bitten by the football bug

“I found it very exciting, very interesting. 90,000 people cheering, full of energy, although we lost 3-2.

“So after that, I put in, I think, £20million and said that's enough and said I'm willing to put in maybe £100million if I'm able to change the colour from blue to red and I said red's my lucky colour and also said to them it's the national symbol, the national flag of Wales is red and it also has a red dragon so I'd like to use that and the red dragon (badge).

Maybe if I'd known it was so difficult and all the problems that we'd face, maybe I wouldn't have invested.
Vincent Tan

“I didn’t like the bluebird. I said take off the bluebird and finally we had a compromise and we kept the bluebird flying underneath the dragon.

“After everything was agreed, I invested and gave money to buy players and then we got promoted. The year that we changed, we got promoted.

"So of course, there were a few factors. Those that love the manager say that it was because of him. Of course, those of us who are in business know that if I had not provided the £15million and we did not buy enough players, how can he get us promoted?”