'That didn't happen' – Paul Mullin lays truth bare over Ryan Reynolds Wrexham phone call
Paul Mullin has dismissed claims he went above his manager's head to complain to Wrexham's Hollywood owners about being left out of the team. The 30-year-old was recently allowed to join Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan deal after being frozen out of Phil Parkinson's squad during the second half of last season in League One.
The striker has been a poster boy for Wrexham since joining the club in July 2021, with his 110 goals helping fire the Welsh side to three successive promotions from the National League to the Championship. Mullin has also formed a strong relationship with the Welsh side's co-owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and frequently appears on the Welcome to Wrexham documentary.
He fell down the pecking order towards the end of last term after undergoing back surgery during pre-season and struggling for form. Mullin admitted to feeling resentment at being sidelined during a recent episode of the Disney+ docuseries.
He has now denied claims in a social media post that he chose to sidestep Parkinson by calling Reynolds and McElhenney to express his frustration over the situation. However, Mullin did question why the former Bolton and Sunderland boss didn't make more effort to quash the rumours.
When asked about the impact of social media gossip on the StillTalkingShow, he said: "There are things that bug you as you're only human. It's when people come up with stupid stuff. There was a thing earlier in the year that I'd rung the owners, Rob and Ryan, and gone above the manager and that's why I wasn't playing.
"I don't know where they get it from. Don't get me wrong, the manager could have helped me out and come out and said why he wasn't playing me and that would've been it. I don't know why that didn't happen, but I had to respond because that's not me, that's not my personality and that didn't happen."
Following the confirmation of his loan move to Wigan, Mullin confessed to feeling bewildered over why Parkinson left him out. The manager's decision came following the arrival of strikers Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez in the January transfer window.
While Wrexham are preparing for life in the Championship after achieving promotion from the third tier in April, Mullin himself will be playing in League One again next season. And he admitted his impressive return in front of goal may have inadvertently led to his own downfall, despite still having two years left on his contract with the club.
"As players, I think we've done an unbelievable job to take the club where it is," said Mullin. "That in turn has meant that the club's made money through commercial deals.
"Through time, though, it'll probably be to our own detriment as players, because you'll get to the point where you do that well that they've got so much money and they don't want you anymore. It's quite sad, but that's just the way it is."
Watch the new season of Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+
Welcome to Wrexham is back on Disney+ for a fourth season. Fans can watch the series with a £4.99 monthly plan, or get 12 months for the price of 10 by paying for a year upfront.
He added: "If you're a kid, you can have all the toys in the world, but you still want new ones and it's the same in football. Sometimes it's just the way it is.
"When we go up the leagues, we're going to need to sign players who are used to playing at that level, as we've done all the way through. If it means that's the end for some of us, then obviously it's tough to take after everything we've achieved.
"But I'm so grateful to the owners. It's been some ride. We've set records that probably will never be broken, and made history many times over."
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