Gareth Bale Wrexham: Ryan Reynolds attempts to bring former Welsh captain to League Two - age and net worth

Wrexham recently secured promotion to the English Football League when they beat Boreham Wood 3-1 at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday. The Welsh side have endured 15 years in the fifth-tier National League but two years after being bought by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the club are now back in the professional football leagues.

Just a few days after the jubiliations, which included Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd celebrating with Wrexham fans in the Turf Hotel, the two co-owners have attempted to bring Gareth Bale back out of retirement. Bale, 33, retired in January after leading his country to their first World Cup finals since 1958.

The Welsh talisman showed his support for Reynolds and McElhenney’s achievement and posted a video to Twitter in which he said: “Hi Rob, just wanted to congratulate you on your promotion and everything you’re doing at Wrexham.”

Both Reynolds and McElhenney have since responded with suggestions of trying to coax the former Tottenham and Real Madrid fan out of retirement.

What has been said?

The Always Sunny in Philadelphia star replied to Bale’s tweet saying: “Let’s play golf, where I totally won’t spend four hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season.”

Reynolds has also added that he would “shave a professional-grade golf course” into his fellow owner’s back if it would tempt Bale, a keen golfer, back. However, the Deadpool star later took this back stating that McElhenney did not quite have the “requisite body hair to support this plan”.

Bale would not be the first big name the owners have managed to bring to the Red Dragons. In January, the former Premier League and England goalkeeper Ben Foster joined Wrexham on a short contract. Foster saved a crucial last-minute penalty in Wrexham’s win over title rivals Notts County and is now saying he is considering staying for longer than his initial contract.

Who is Gareth Bale?

Gareth Bale first began his playing career with Southampton in 2006 but is best known for his years with Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh talents of all time.

The 33-year-old’s move to Real Madrid was a world record transfer fee of £85.1 million and he formed part of the trio dubbed BBC with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. He helped the club win the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League in 2013-14, scoring in both finals, but his most famous goal came in the 2018 UCL final victory against Liverpool when one of his two goals was achieved with a stunning overhead kick.

Bale is Wales’ most capped player and all-time top scorer with 41 international goals in 111 appearances. He has been named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times and was pivotal in helping Wales reach the Euros 2016 - where Wales reached the semi-finals - Euros 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Since retiring, Bale has been focusing more on golf, taking part in a PGA Tour event just weeks after leaving the pitch. While a player of his calibre coming out of retirement to play for the newly promoted League Two side might be a bit far-fetched, it could end up just being part of Wrexham’s Hollywood story.

What is Gareth Bale’s net worth?

As of January 2023, it has been reported that Bale’s net worth is set at around £119 million. During his final playing years at MLS club Los Angles FC, Bale was on a yearly salary of $2.3 million and the winger was also on around £500,000-a-week during his final few years at Real Madrid. He was the third highest earning football player in the world at the time, with only PSG stars Lionel Messi and Neymar earning more.