Wrexham owner tempts Gareth Bale to un-retire for another season

Wrexham Association Football Club has had a fairytale season that saw them get promoted to League 2. Now, co-owner Rob McElhenney is literally aiming for the stars by attempting to convince Wales legend Gareth Bale to come out of retirement to play for the now massively famous side.

McElhenney and fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds became the owners of Wrexham AFC in 2020 after the club was put up for sale due to its financial struggles. The two actors have since invested upwards of £10 million into the club, which went into buying back their home stadium, refurbishing it and signing some stronger players.

As a result, that investment has paid off massively, and Wrexham have ended their 15-year wait for a promotion. The two actors have become the toast of the once fairly obscure Welsh town, which is now hitting the headlines worldwide on a regular basis.

Football fans around the world watched the fairytale unfold as McElhenney and Reynolds documented their journey in the Disney+ docuseries titled "Welcome to Wrexham."

When their promotion was confirmed just days ago, the club was in the news in what could be the most number of times they have ever enjoyed media exposure in their history. Congratulations poured in from around the world, and it appears as though Tottenham and Real Madrid legend Gareth Bale was also keeping tabs on the club's story.

Bale sent a video to McElhenney, congratulating him for Wrexham's National League title and subsequent promotion. The "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star could not help but share the video to the public, and added a straightforward invitation to the five-time Champions League winner.

"Hi Rob, just want to congratulate you on your promotion and everything you're doing at Wrexham," said the 33-year-old former Wales captain, who appeared to be at a golf course. The club owner then replied by captioning the post with a proposition: "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," he said.

It seems like wishful thinking at this point, but it is a well-known fact that Bale has a massive soft spot for football in his home country. He was even criticised during his later years with Real Madrid for appearing to prioritise his national team duties over his club.

In fact, memes popped up all over the internet showing Bale saying "Wales, Golf, Real Madrid in that order."

He eventually ran down his contract with the Spanish giants before making a splash during a short stint with LAFC in the MLS. He then led Wales to a historic World Cup appearance late last year before finally calling time on his professional career. Only just 33, he is much younger than many other professional footballers who are still active.

However, he dealt with a number of injuries in the latter half of his career, leading him to spend most of his time on the bench. It is unclear if he has stayed fit enough to play competitively in the months since his retirement, but League 2 should prove to be less challenging than La Liga and even the MLS.

If Bale decides to play for Wrexham, he will be joining former England, Watford, West Brom and Manchester United keeper, Ben Foster, who agreed to play for "peanuts" to help his former club get promoted. He also un-retired to be able to play for Wrexham.

Such has been the hype surrounding Wrexham that former Wales player Hal Robson-Kanu also offered to come out of retirement to play for the club, while pledging his wages to charity. The sparkle of Tinseltown has certainly spread all over Wrexham, and it remains to be seen how well they will do in League 2 next season.