Ryan Reynolds showed a classy side after reaching out to a Manchester United goalkeeper following Wrexham's pre-season meeting with the Red Devils in 2023.
The friendly, which Wrexham won 3-1 , was overshadowed by a serious injury to striker Paul Mullin , who suffered a punctured lung after colliding with United goalkeeper Nathan Bishop. Bishop had raced off his line in an attempt to clear the ball as Mullin broke through on goal, catching the Wrexham forward with a heavy challenge.
Mullin was treated with oxygen on the pitch before being taken to hospital, while the visibly upset Bishop later contacted him to apologise . Although Reynolds was not at the match, he learned of both the incident and Bishop's gesture afterwards. It later emerged that the Wrexham co-owner personally messaged the United goalkeeper to praise the way he had handled the situation and wished him well for the future.
FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE! Latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook page A few days later, Reynolds made light of the incident, joking that fellow Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney would be "having a word" with Bishop.
Speaking to former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the set of Deadpool 3, Reynolds said:
"The UK is my favourite place to make a movie. I'm hoping to see even more film work head to Wales.
Rob would have joined but he's currently having a word with Man United's youth team goalie."
While Reynolds was able to see the funny side, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson was far less forgiving. He described Bishop's challenge as "reckless" and "clumsy", and even suggested the goalkeeper should "steer clear" of Wrexham in future.
His anger was understandable given Mullin's importance to the club. Between the 2021/22 and 2023/24 seasons, the striker scored 105 goals in 140 appearances, cementing his place among Wrexham's greatest goalscorers and playing a pivotal role in the club's rapid rise through the Football League. However, Mullin found goals much harder to come by after Wrexham's promotion to League One, scoring just five times in 32 appearances across all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign.
Following the club's promotion to the Championship in 2025, he was loaned to Wigan Athletic before spending the second half of last season at Bradford City, where he failed to score in nine appearances.
Bishop, meanwhile, never made a senior appearance for Manchester United before leaving the club shortly after the incident to join then-Championship side Sunderland. The move failed to kick-start his career, however. After making just two appearances for the Black Cats, he was sent out on loan to Wycombe Wanderers and Cambridge United before joining AFC Wimbledon last season.
The move finally gave the 26-year-old a sustained run of first-team football - his first since a loan spell at Mansfield Town during the 2021/22 campaign.
Wrexham came close to setting up more meetings with Manchester United last season after narrowly missing out on a Championship play-off place. They finished seventh, two points behind Hull City, who went on to secure promotion to the Premier League by beating Millwall and Middlesbrough in the play-offs.
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