Wrexham defender Jacob Mendy has opened up on what it would be like to play with Gareth Bale as the Hollywood owners refuse to give up hope of attracting the former Wales star out of retirement.
Mendy played 30 times during the record-smashing National League campaign resulting in promotion as title winners two weeks ago. When he signed from this season's play-off semi-final losers Boreham Wood last summer, although expectations were high for Wrexham, he never imagined playing with Bale.
Now, with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds pulling the strings as owners, the prospect isn't as far away as first thought. The 33-year-old himself has come out to shut down rumours of a return to the pitch but the USA-Canadian first time owners aren't taking no for an answer.
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In an interview for The Aarthi and Sriram Show, McElhenney said: "Gareth, okay listen, it's just me and you talking for a second. I know that Southern California is beautiful and I know, I'm from Philadelphia and I've lived here for many, many years but you're a young man and you have the rest of your life to live wherever you want.
"If you could just come back from one last year of glory, one last year. I believe your nation, the nation of Wales, could do the right thing. Call me."
Mendy can't think of anything better than playing for the same team as the former Tottenham and Real Madrid star. Speaking to Gianluca Di Marzio, he said: "It would be a dream to play with him, I would love to. But I don't know if it will ever come true, I don't think so.
"Although there have been several surprises here. I would love to play with Pique."
Surprise is effectively Wrexham's middle name right now. The club have already signed Ben Foster out of his own retirement but were rewarded for doing so and are still trying to make Bale the best ever League Two player in history.
Bale has already put a dampener on proceedings by downplaying the chances of a move, saying: "No I don’t think so. 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."
He added: "I’m enjoying my time away. I started at a young age and felt the time was right."
That hasn't stopped the owners from teasing fans across the world, explaining their stance on the possible transfer. "I think there’s seriousness from our side, but I don’t know that there’s seriousness from his. I think he’s happy," McElhenney told S4C.
"I’m also weirdly happy for him to do exactly what he wants to do with his life," Reynolds added. "He’s given up so much for a sport that he loves. It’s fun, though. I like that we can kind of do some stuff that’s a little outside the box of convention when it comes to goofing around.
"I didn’t think Ben Foster would be coming over and he did."
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