The 30-year-old striker has played a pivotal role in the Welsh club climbing the ladder of English football – but his future is now in doubt
There are few more compelling stories in football right now than Wrexham's rapid rise to prominence since being taken over by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2020 – which is why the documentary spawned by the takeover has proven such a smash hit with audiences all across the world.
Paul Mullin has quite literally been one of the stars of the show, with the striker becoming an icon at The Racecourse Ground – and beyond – by helping the Welsh club go from the National League to League One with 100 goals in just 133 games in his first three seasons at the club. He even made a cameo appearance in Reynold's hugely successful 'Deadpool & Wolverine' superhero movie released last summer!
However, while Wrexham are presently in contention to achieve a third consecutive promotion, their long-time leading man has been reduced to a bit-part role during their current campaign. Consequently, there's now a very real possibility that if the Red Dragons do reach the Championship next season, they won't take Mullin with them.
'Couldn't have written it any better'
In the summer of 2021, Mullin was coming off the back of the most prolific season of his career, after netting 32 times in 46 appearances as Cambridge United secured promotion to League One. He was offered a new contract at the Abbey Stadium but decided against signing it, and rather than go up a tier with Cambridge, he opted instead to drop down to the non-league ranks by joining Wrexham.
It was an undoubted gamble, but it paid off spectacularly. After joining the massive supporting cast of 'Welcome to Wrexham', Mullin's life would never be the same again.
"It’s been a whirlwind," Mullin told in December. "I came here to play football and for people who don’t support Wrexham to recognise you from the documentary felt a bit strange. But luckily I did well enough on the pitch for the embarrassment to turn into pride and the whole story has been phenomenal. I don't think you could have written it any better if you were writing a film screenplay!"
The question now, though, is whether the classic 'rags-to-riches' story will include a happy ending for him.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportInjury issues
The 2024-25 season has not gone well at all for Mullin. Wrexham sit third in the League One standings, 14 points behind runaway leaders Birmingham City but just two off Wycombe Wanders in the second automatic promotion spot. However, Mullin's contribution to the cause has been negligible – which would have been unthinkable even just a few months ago.
Injury issues haven't helped. Mullin missed the start of the season as he was still recovering from surgery tied to a "long-term lower-back/hamstring issue".
"He's a naturally fit lad and I don't think it will be long to get back and start knocking on the door saying he's ready," manager Phil Parkinson said last August. "I've talked to him and the operation has done its trick and feels so much better, and so it was the right decision to go ahead with it. Touch wood, if there's no problems with it, I envisage he'll be back sooner rather than later."
No room on the bench?!
Mullin made his eagerly-awaited return as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Reading on August 24 and was eased back into action over the next few weeks, before being restored to the starting line-up against Crawley Town almost exactly a month later.
When he bagged his first goal of the season while completing 90 minutes for the first time since his operation, against Rotherham on October 19, the expectation was that he would kick on from there. He didn't, though.
Mullin offered a spectacular reminder of his quality with a stunning strike against Blackpool on Boxing Day that drew online praise from Reynolds, but it's arguably been the only real highlight in an otherwise gloomy period in the 30-year-old's stellar spell at Wrexham.
Indeed, Mullin has managed just three goals in League One this season and, worse still, after being sidelined for the return clash with Crawley at the start of the month with a shin problem, he's been left out of the match squad completely for three of Wrexham's last four league games – and didn't even get off the bench in the other.
Mullin was introduced as a substitute in the EFL Trophy semi-final clash with Peterborough, but even that appearance ended in disappointment, as he missed a penalty in his side's shootout loss that led to them missing out on a trip to Wembley.
Getty Images Sport'Bit p*ssed off'
Unsurprisingly, Mullin's situation has become a major talking point among pundits and supporters.
"He needed a goal, and then he got one when he hit a joke of a goal [against Blackpool] and you think 'here we go', but it just doesn’t seem to be happening for him," legendary Wrexham striker Andy Morrell told the podcast.
"I saw him get chucked into a barrier at Barnsley and he came back on and he was angry. He was annoyed, but he ran harder than I’ve seen him run, he was getting in behind, he was a threat, he was putting himself about. He looked a bit p*ssed off and that’s the Mullin we know and love, who gets stuck in and really gives the defence a problem. For that half an hour, I thought he was back, but then we don't see it again in the next game. I don’t know what it is. Is it just confidence at this level?"
