Gareth Bale responds to Rob McElhenney's Wrexham offer
By Tom Gott
Gareth Bale has confirmed he is not currently considering ending his retirement to play for Wrexham.
Following Wrexham's promotion to League Two, co-owner Rob McElhenney took to Twitter to ask Bale if he fancied a game of golf that 'totally' would not be a four-hour attempt at convincing the former Tottenham and Real Madrid winger to end his retirement.
Fellow co-owner Ryan Reynolds even got involved, vowing to shave a golf course into McElhenney's back to help convince Bale.
The former Welsh winger fuelled the fire by responding to McElhenney's post with a tweet of his own which read: "Depends what course".
However, while speaking at the UK Sport Industry Awards 2023, Bale was asked for a definitive answer as to whether he would be interested in joining Wrexham, and the 33-year-old dashed the hopes of fans by admitting he was just going along with the joke.
Read more about Wrexham's Hollywood story
“No I don’t think so," Bale said. "I think I was looking more for a free round of golf off Rob.
“I’m sure we’ll have a chat and a joke but I’m quite happy where I am.
“I’m spending a lot of time with my kids, my wife, time that I’ve lost so much over the years being committed to football. I’m just enjoying family life and playing some golf.”
To enforce his point, Bale went on to stress that he does not miss football.
“No. I’m enjoying my time away. I started at a young age and felt the time was right," he explained. “We left Wales football in a great place and I’m sure they’re going to still continue to strive and do good things.”
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