Wrexham chief reveals reason ex-Man United star rejected summer move to Hollywood-owned club | OneFootball

Wrexham’s chief executive, Michael Williamson, has revealed that Christian Eriksen initially turned down a summer approach from the club, primarily because the player did not wish for his story to be featured in their acclaimed documentary series.

The bold move by Wrexham, newly promoted to the Championship, came when Eriksen, whose heart stopped beating after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020, was a free agent following his departure from Old Trafford.

The club’s ascent from the National League, under Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, has been chronicled in the Welcome to Wrexham series, which has garnered multiple Primetime Emmy Awards and other industry accolades.

Speaking on That Wrexham Podcast, Williamson, who previously served on the Inter Milan board during Eriksen’s tenure with the Serie A club from 2020-21, recounted the initial contact.

"I reached out to the agent and what was really interesting in the first call is the reaction was, ‘We don’t want his story to be in a documentary, because we’ve had plenty of opportunities for a documentary for his story’," he explained.

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Eriksen opted against joining Wrexham in the summer (PA Archive)

Williamson added: "He thought we were calling not because of his footballing capabilities, but because we wanted a documentary story (about Eriksen). I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I didn’t even think about that’. Obviously, I’m aware of it, but that wasn’t the reason we were calling.

“We were calling because he could potentially be an interesting footballer, we’re looking for players that could play for us in the Championship. Difference makers that could help us be competitive on the pitch."

He clarified that after explaining Wrexham’s true objectives – building a competitive squad rather than seeking documentary content – a productive conversation ensued.

"After I explained what our actual objectives were, trying to build a competitive squad and that I wasn’t even thinking about it from a documentary perspective, we had a great conversation," Williamson said.

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Wrexham chief executive Michael Williamson held talks with Eriksen over a potential move (Cody Frogatt/PA) (PA Wire)

Despite the discussion, Williamson noted that while the idea of signing Eriksen was "kicked around", the 33-year-old midfielder ultimately sought to continue playing for a "first-tier club".

He eventually joined Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in September.

However, Williamson believes Wrexham’s transfer dealings benefited significantly from their interest in Eriksen becoming public knowledge.

"I wasn’t expecting the agent to come out and say what he said because I typically expect those conversations to be confidential," he admitted.

"But what it did was it sent a signal around the players’ market, if you will. That we were serious about being competitive."

This public declaration of ambition, Williamson explained, was crucial. "I think that was important because a lot of people were just saying, ‘OK, what’s Wrexham doing? You know, they’ve been a little bit quiet at the start of the market, but now they want to be competitive’," he said.

"It opened up doors and conversations to bring in players like Kieffer (Moore), Josh (Windass), (Liberato) Cacace, Lewis O’Brien, Conor Coady."

Following this, Wrexham proceeded to break their transfer record three times, including a reported £10 million outlay for Wales striker Nathan Broadhead, contributing to a total spend of £33 million.