Former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has addressed the rumours linking him with a move to Wrexham, who got newly promoted from National League to League Two. Wrexham claimed the National League championship with 111 points, four ahead of opponents Notts County, to gain promotion to League Two after 15 years outside the professional league.
McElhenney and co-owner Ryan Reynolds were both there at the Racecourse as an emotional 3-1 victory over Boreham Wood clinched promotion back to the Football League. And Rob McElhenney immediately urged Gareth Bale to reconsider retirement and join the Red Dragons as they prepare for life in League Two after promotion from the National League.
Gareth Bale not interested in reconsidering retirement for Wrexham move
Gareth Bale has put an end to speculations of a transfer to Wrexham by visiting a prestigious school 200 miles away. The retired Wales winger, 33, came in a green £200,000 Lamborghini Huracan with son Axel, five. The father of four visited a £15,000-a-year private school in the Home Counties, then surprised students by joining them for a game of football. A source told The Sun: “He seems intent on moving to the South East.”
Furthermore, Gareth Bale’s agent has dismissed suggestions that he could reverse his retirement to join Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham as “tongue-in-cheek.” Reynolds and McElhenney have both approached Bale about coming out of retirement and joining Wrexham. McElhenney tweeted after Bale congratulated the club on its success:
“Hey @GarethBale11 let’s play golf, where I totally won’t spend 4 hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season.”
Although the former Tottenham star later stated that he had no plans to return to the club, Wrexham’s co-owners would not lose up and McElhenney made another plea to Bale earlier this month. McElhenney stated on The Aarthi & Sriram Show:
“Gareth, okay – just you and me talking here for a second. I know Southern California is beautiful and I know, because I’m from Philadelphia and I’ve lived here for many many years. But you’re a young man, and you have the rest of your life to live wherever you want. But, if you could just come back for one last year of glory – one last year – I believe your nation, the nation of Wales, is counting on you to do the right thing. Call me.”
Bale’s long-time agent Jonathan Barnett, on the other hand, claims his client just “doesn’t want to play football anymore.” In response to a question regarding the offer, Barnett told Sky Sports:
“He’s flattered by the offers, but they’re all tongue-in-cheek. He’s having a great life at the moment and [it is] well-deserved, he’s been the best British footballer probably ever. He’s now having a well-deserved rest. They [Reynolds and McElhenney] haven’t actually spoken to me, they may have spoken to Gareth but Gareth doesn’t want to play football anymore. He’s had a great career and he’s enjoyed himself, but he’s having a great life now.
“He’s with his family which is the most important thing. He’s spending a lot of time with his children and that’s what he wants to do.”
Barnett further stated that Gareth Bale’s decision to retire after the 2022 World Cup at the age of 33 was not unexpected given his issues with injuries in the last years of his career. He added:
“He’d been discussing it for a long time and, for him, it was the right time. He’s achieved everything he wanted to achieve. He’s played for Wales at the highest level, the World Cup, which is what he really wanted to do and I think he knew his body wasn’t really up to it anymore. He’d had a hard time with his body the last few years and now he’s a different person.”