Gareth Bale not interested in a return to football, says agent

Gareth Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett says the former Real Madrid forward is not interested in joining Wrexham or returning to football.

Barnett says Bale “doesn’t want to play football anymore”. When asked about his client’s offers, Barnett told Sky Sports: “He’s flattered by the offers, but they’re all tongue-in-cheek. He’s having a great life at the moment and [it is] well-deserved, he’s been the best British footballer probably ever.

“He’s now having a well-deserved rest. They [Reynolds and McElhenney] haven’t actually spoken to me, they may have spoken to Gareth but Gareth doesn’t want to play football anymore. He’s had a great career and he’s enjoyed himself, but he’s having a great life now.

“He’s with his family which is the most important thing. He’s spending a lot of time with his children and that’s what he wants to do.”

Barnett on Bale’s retirement

Barnett added: “He’d been discussing it for a long time and, for him, it was the right time.

“He’s achieved everything he wanted to achieve. He’s played for Wales at the highest level, the World Cup, which is what he really wanted to do and I think he knew his body wasn’t really up to it anymore. He’d had a hard time with his body the last few years and now he’s a different person.”

Wrexham interest in Bale

Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have both reportedly asked Bale to come out of retirement and join the club, who recently enjoyed promotion to the Football League.

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

After Bale congratulated the club on its success, McElhenney wrote on: “Hey @GarethBale11 let’s play golf, where I totally won’t spend 4 hours trying to convince you to un-retire for one last magical season.”