Wrexham’s Reynolds and McElhenney insist Bale offer ‘serious from our side’
The Wrexham co-chairmen, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have insisted there is “seriousness” to their public offer for Gareth Bale to come out of retirement and play for their club, who have just been promoted back to the Football League.
The former Wales captain announced his retirement at the age of 33 in January after leading his country to their first World Cup finals appearance since 1958. McElhenney then tweeted Bale last month, after Wrexham had secured the National League title and a place in League Two for next season.
David Squires on … Wrexham’s reboot getting its Hollywood ending
Read more
“Hey @GarethBale11 let’s play golf, where I totally won’t spend four hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season,” McElhenny wrote. Bale turned down the offer, saying he is “quite happy where I am. Spending a lot of time with my kids and my wife. Time that I’ve lost over the years, being committed to football.”
“I think I was looking more for a free round of golf off Rob,” Bale joked when asked about the offer by the presenter Laura Woods at the Sport Industry Awards last week.
In an interview for S4C broadcast on Tuesday, the Welsh journalist Maxine Hughes asked if there was “seriousness” to McElhenney and Reynolds’ offer on Twitter and if they are “actually trying to convince Gareth Bale to come and play?”
“I think there’s seriousness from our side, but I don’t know that there’s seriousness from his. I think he’s happy,” McElhenney replied, while Reynolds added: “I’m also weirdly happy for him to do exactly what he wants to do with his life.”
“He’s given up so much for a sport that he loves,” Reynolds continues. “It’s fun, though. I like that we can kind of do some stuff that’s a little outside the box of convention when it comes to goofing around.”
0:41
'I'm happy where I am': Gareth Bale turns down Wrexham offer – video
“I didn’t think Ben Foster would be coming over and he did,” the 46-year-old actor added. Wrexham persuaded the former England goalkeeper Foster to come out of retirement in March, and he memorably saved a last-minute penalty against title rivals Notts County as the Dragons won promotion.
Wrexham’s revival under their Hollywood owners has captured global attention, and Reynolds was keen to reflect on the personal impact of his investment in the former non-league side, which he bought alongside McElhenney in November 2020.
Sign up to Football Daily
Free daily newsletter
Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football
Enter your email address
Sign up
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
“I think it’s slowly dawning on me, I’m still catching up to myself, I can’t believe that I’m in a place in my life where any sports team, let alone one I happen to somehow be a co-chairman of, has affected me this deeply,” Reynolds said.
“I feel like there was a DNA change when we lived through that Boreham Wood moment, and that match [when promotion and the title were secured]. I don’t know that I’ll ever be quite the same again. I live in a sort of constant, slightly perpetual state of elation and I don’t want to come back down from this cloud.”
“I realise that this isn’t a sport for the soft-hearted, but to experience that moment and to bring that trophy home to Wrexham was probably at least the top one experiences of my life,” he concluded. “And I am aware that I have children.”