AFL identity Eddie McGuire has revealed he made an approach to the AFL about buying the Gold Coast Suns in a bombshell bid that has never up until now been disclosed.

Since entering the competition in 2011, the AFL has struggled to get the Suns pumping with the young club yet to make an appearance in the finals.

However, under newly installed coach Damien Hardwick there’s been significant improvement and the Suns currently sit eighth deep into the 2025 season.

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Speaking on Nine’s Eddie and Jimmy podcast, McGuire casually dropped the news that he had looked at a takeover of the Suns despite the fact that “Collingwood’s my heart” as he and Jimmy Bartel discussed the club’s academy in the Northern Territory.

The former Magpies president said the NT academy should instead be funnelling players to the struggling North Melbourne Kangaroos, with McGuire claiming the Suns will outgrow the need for it.

“I actually did approach the AFL to see if I could buy them … we had a conversation,” he said.

That one-liner knocked Bartel for six, with the Geelong great surprised that in the three years the pair had worked together McGuire had never before mentioned his Suns interest.

“There wasn’t a sit down but we did kick it around, there was others involved in it, some big names in football and business and the like,” McGuire continued.

Currently, the AFL Commission owns a majority stake in the Suns.

Despite leaving it at a preliminary conversation, McGuire confirmed he still believes there’s serious potential in the Suns.

“Collingwood’s my heart, I’m not going to do anything against the Pies,” he said.

“But just looking at it and going through it and how you could set it up, the Gold Coast could be a powerhouse.

“If there was a team outside of Collingwood I could buy, I’d buy them.”