Rob McElhenney risks making mockery of Wrexham AFC with Gareth Bale transfer comments: View | OneFootball

Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney has been no stranger to making bold statements since buying the club alongside Ryan Reynolds in February 2021.

Whether it's outlining the Hollywood pair's ambition of taking the Red Dragons to the Premier League or setting out their goal of increasing the capacity of the Racecourse Ground to as much as 55,000, the Always Sunny in Philadelphia Star knows how to dream big.

Of course, there's no harm in reaching for the stars and their spirit is largely to be admired after recently taking the North Wales club to back-to-back promotions for the first time in its history.

However, the 47-year-old actor may have taken a misstep this week when he made a second attempt to entice Gareth Bale to join Phil Parkinson's side.

Wrexham co-owner says Bale offer is "still on the table"

The remarks were made after McElhenney threw the opening pitch in a Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets at West Ham's London Stadium on Sunday.

He previously attempted to encourage the former Wales and Real Madrid star out of retirement in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, last year.

As per the BBC, when asked again about the prospect of trying to lure the 34-year-old to Wrexham, he said: “Gareth Bale is still technically available. I don't know, I made the plea last year, and I'm just going to tell Gareth that the offer's still on the table.

“We'll let you off for golf, whenever you need to get off. As long as you come to training once or twice a week, we can figure out how to get you 10 minutes on the pitch.

“And the golf courses - Wales is amongst the most beautiful countries in the world.”

Wrexham have pulled off some unlikely moves since the takeover, including bringing former England keeper Ben Foster out of retirement to help them lift the National League title.

However, the chances of them signing Bale would appear slim to none after the man himself previously brushed off the suggestion.

And while many of McElhenney's comments are made tongue in cheek, he insisted the last offer was serious from his side.

McElhenney's comments could undermine Phil Parkinson's achievements

McElhenney's ambition and ability to draw headlines has largely stood Wrexham in good stead so far but the absurdity of his latest appeal could be potentially harmful to their image.

There's already an unfair perception from outside the club that Parkinson's achievements are mostly down to throwing large sums of money at aging stars.

It's true that the manager has brought in a couple of seasoned ex-Premier League campaigners over the last few seasons, including the additions of James McClean from Wigan Athletic and free agent Steven Fletcher last summer.

But Parkinson only makes such acquisitions when he's certain of the drive and ability of the individuals concerned and both proved their value as Wrexham achieved promotion from League Two at the first time of asking in 2023/24.

He has also brought younger talents through, such as Max Cleworth (21) and Ryan Barnett (24), while making Arsenal loanee Arthur Okonkwo (22) his number one last term.

McElhenney's remarks risk making the Racecourse seem like a retirement home for players whose star is on the wane when their manager has actually turned them into much more than that.

Any transfer targets should also be decided at Parkinson's say-so to avoid business being conducted via the media circus that surrounds the club.

Wrexham must avoid perception of ownership as a gimmick

There's a popular saying that "any publicity is good publicity", which has largely proved to be accurate at Wrexham under Reynolds and McElhenney to date.

The spotlight shone on the Red Dragons by the takeover and Welcome to Wrexham documentary has turned the club into a global brand and brought millions of pounds into the local economy.

However, sometimes media coverage can reach a saturation point and occasionally does more harm than good.

McElhenney's latest attempt to woo Bale has even been greeted by eye-rolling among the club's own fans.

One supporter who posted about the reports on Wrexham AFC forum Red Passion said: “What the club has done so well over the last couple of years is prove the whole ownership isn’t a gimmick and is a serious operation. Publicly chasing a footballer who’s been retired for 18 months is a gimmick.”

For that reason, it might do McElhenney well to think first before shooting from the hip the next time he has a camera shoved in his face.