Gareth Bale looks to have put an end to any suggestion he could join Wrexham following his agent confirming the retired footballer would not be U-turning on his decision.
Bale, 33, hung up his boots in January after a glittering career. Wrexham, who are co-owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, want to lure the former Wales captain out of retirement for one final (not so) glamorous season in League Two.
The Welsh side are back in the English Football League (EFL) after winning the National League title and have a growing fanbase in the United States thanks to their popular docuseries 'Welcome to Wrexham'. Yet that is not enough to tempt Bale out of retirement.
Bale's representative Jonathan Barnett was asked about the Welshman's future by The Sun after weeks of speculation. The agent replied: "I can say there will be no move to Wrexham. Gareth doesn’t want to play football anymore."
The question was put to Barnett after Bale was spotted visiting a school in England with his son Axel, five. "He seems intent on moving to the South East," a source told The Sun.
Wrexham have a reputation for luring footballers out of retirement after Ben Foster signed for them in March to boost their National League title hopes. That was a huge coup for Reynolds and McElhenney, as Foster was playing in the Premier League a year ago.
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Wrexham's promotion to the EFL has left fans wondering which former international will be the next to arrive at the Racecourse. Bale would be an ideal candidate for the job after winning five Champions League titles, among other honours, at Real Madrid.
Bale also achieved success with Tottenham, winning two Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Players' Player of the Year awards, and he inspired Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, where they lost to Portugal. His final goal came at last year's World Cup.
Bale allowed speculation to build by publicly congratulating Wrexham on their promotion to the EFL. That led Reynolds and McElhenney to ask him whether he would come out of retirement for one final campaign, but the legendary winger said no.
Bale was asked whether he was interested in joining Wrexham at last month's Sports Industry Awards. He said: "No, I don't think so... [I'm] spending a lot of time with my kids and my wife, time that I've lost so much of over the years being committed to football."
That encouraged McElhenney to make another plea on The Aarthi and Sriram Show. Wrexham's co-owner said: "If you could just come back for one last year of glory, one last year. I believe your nation, the nation of Wales... do the right thing. Call me."
There's no guarantee Bale would make an impact in League Two if he decides to come out of retirement, as the winger struggled to play consistently during the latter stages of his career. Wrexham's could play more than 60 games in all competitions next term.
