Following Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney trying to coax Gareth Bale out of retirement after Wrexham FC’s promotion into the Football League on Saturday Paddy Power have announced 12/1 odds for the Welsh player to play a League Two match for Wrexham in 23/24.
Co-owner of the club, Rob McElhenney, shared a video from Bale congratulating the club on its promotion Twitter with the caption "Hey [Gareth Bale] let's play golf, where I totally won't spend 4 hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season".
Later that day Bale responded to what the American co-owner had to say, writing: "Depends what course...".
Reynolds promptly joined in on the conversation with a proposition for Bale if he considered returning to the sport for Wrexham. "I will shave a professional-grade golf course into Rob's back if you'll give Wrexham a season," Reynolds tweeted.
I know it’s like 48 hours after this happened, but has anyone else watched this a hundred times? This is what it means… to those who it means a lot. ❤️@Wrexham_AFC pic.twitter.com/UkhHEz8eEA
— Ben Foster (@BenFoster) April 24, 2023
Bale announced his retirement in January, aged 33, following Wales' disappointing 2022 World Cup performance. This decision came as a surprise to many fans and experts, but Bale cited a desire to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests outside of football.
Bale has won five Champions League titles, two La Liga titles and is Wales men’s all-time leading goal scorer.
His skill and experience would undoubtedly be a significant asset to any team and would be one of the most impressive transfers in history if he decided to step into League Two for a season as Wrexham push for back-to-back promotions.
Rachael Kane of Paddy Power said: "Looks like Wrexham FC is looking to make more headline-stealing moves and following the clubs astonishing first promotion into the Football League in 15 years our traders think anything could be possible”.
PADDY POWER SPECIALS ON GARETH BALE JOINING WREXHAM FC
12/1 for Gareth Bale to play a League Two match for Wrexham in 23/24