Paul Mullin departed Wrexham a week ago but can look back on the last four years as nothing but an enormous success.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds completed their Wrexham takeover in 2021, and it was difficult to predict how this journey would go.
Some thought the takeover was a publicity stunt, or believed McElhenney and Reynolds would get bored and leave Wrexham in the lurch.
Others correctly predicted a period of real success for Wrexham as the club was dragged out of the doldrums with a dash of Hollywood flair.
McElhenney and Reynolds tasted their first play-off heartbreak in their first season, but have since witnessed three straight promotions.
Now preparing for life in the Championship, Wrexham have sent Paul Mullin to Wigan Athletic in a move that highlights the more painful side of the club’s rise.
Paul Mullin on Rob McElhenney’s promotion plan
In an ideal world, Mullin would just bang in the goals at every level and continue his status as Wrexham’s leading striker for years to come.
Mullin became an almost instant hero after his 2021 move from Cambridge United, having arrived as the first major coup of the McElhenney and Reynolds era.
Mullin had just fired Cambridge to promotion from League Two, so dropping down two divisions to join Wrexham made headlines and sparked confusion among neutrals.
The decision paid dividends with Mullin becoming a global star off the back of his Wrexham exploits, scoring the goals to help seal two promotions.
Last season was trickier, with Mullin struggling for first-team minutes, and the striker has now joined Wigan Athletic to begin a new chapter.
Mullin has spoken on Stillryan’s StillTalkingShow and opened up on how McElhenney tempted him to Wrexham in the first place.
Mullin admitted that he wasn’t all that interested in a move to Wrexham at first, especially having been a League Two goal machine for Cambridge.
A phone call with McElhenney changed all of that, and immediately left Mullin with a feeling that he simply had to join.
Mullin admits that McElhenney actually mapped out a plan to reach the Championship within five years.
This summer marks four years since that conversation, so Wrexham have remarkably managed to achieve McElhenney’s goal a year ahead of schedule.
Mullin added that the move has completely changed his life, with the move to the STōK Cae Ras paying dividends for him on and off the pitch.
“They got in touch with my agent and things like that, and it weren’t something that was on my horizon at the time, but I’ve said it numerous times, the owner Rob ends up ringing me and I got off the phone and said to my family ‘I’m going to do it’.
“Just the way he talked and basically, we outlined a plan on the phone to get to the Championship within five years, this was the fourth year, and we’ve just achieved it. I got off that phone call, and I knew. I had a feeling, you have a gut feeling about things, and I knew it was the right thing to do, and it’s changed my life,” he added.
Paul Mullin to Wrexham almost didn’t happen
Mullin has become a Wrexham hero for life, and supporters will be keeping close tabs on his progress with Wigan.
Remarkably, though, Mullin’s move to Wrexham almost didn’t happen at all – and it would have been over just £500-a-week.
Mullin claims he asked for £500-a-week more to stay at Cambridge in 2021, vowing to move his family into the area and commit his future to the club.
Cambridge couldn’t afford to strike that deal, paving the way for Mullin to become a free agent and sign for Wrexham.
“I loved Cambridge so much,” said Mullin.
“Cambridge is a dear place to live, I basically asked them for £500-a-week more and I’d make the move with my family and I wouldn’t have made any money whatsoever, it would have went straight on a house. I’d have been worse off, probably, from what I was doing at the time.
“And they said no, they can’t do it, they’d love to… obviously, I’d just finished top goalscorer, broke their record, broke the league record. They said they can’t do it, they’d already maxed what they could afford in the budget to give me, which is fair enough, it’s football. You have your limit and that’s fine, but I couldn’t do it financially for what they were going to pay me, to move the family down – it just wouldn’t have worked,” he added.
Mullin’s faith in McElhenney has really paid off, and those contract talks with Cambridge have proven to be a real sliding doors moment, as he has enjoyed an incredible rise to prominence in the last four years.
Mullin may never play for Wrexham again, but Phil Parkinson would not be preparing for life in the Championship without Mullin’s impact over the years, and that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.