'I played in the Premier League - but couldn't believe what happened to me at Wrexham'

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Steven Fletcher featured in nearly 200 Premier League game throughout his career, finding the net for clubs such as Wolves and Sunderland . However, the former Scotland striker maintains that nothing matched the crazy, Hollywood-inspired journey he experienced during two remarkable seasons at Wrexham .

Fletcher signed for the Welsh outfit in September 2023 and helped fire them to consecutive promotions from League Two and League One . The 38-year-old's stint with the Red Dragons concluded this summer when he was let go by boss Phil Parkinson .

Having subsequently decided to retire from football , Fletcher has been looking back on life under owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac . And he confessed that the benefits of playing at the Racecourse Ground left him astounded.

Speaking to Ladbrokes , Fletcher said: "The craziest thing about playing for Wrexham is that some of the things I experienced and received from some of the club's sponsors over the two years I was there, I didn't even get in the Premier League.

"There are some massive brands associated with the club now, you've got the likes of United Airlines and HP. They wanted to give us everything, so we were literally coming in sometimes and there'd be a laptop and goodie bags in everyone's seats in the dressing room and you're just thinking, 'we're in League Two'.

"It was crazy. We were going to Las Vegas on United Airlines, we were going to Los Angeles for pre-season. We were just a League Two team and now we're playing against Chelsea and teams like that in pre-season friendlies. All the time you're just thinking, 'what's going on here?'"

The extraordinary rise of Wrexham has been captured in the Welcome to Wrexham TV series, but Fletcher admits that the reality often seemed even more surreal, especially during trips to the United States. Away from football, Fletcher also mingled with the Hollywood elite due to Mac's star-studded connections.

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He said: "Me and one of the other lads, Elliot Lee, spent a few days in LA after we went to Vegas, and Rob had called me and asked me if I wanted to go and play golf with him. He introduced us to this golf club which is basically just for Hollywood A-listers.

"You can only imagine the kind of people who were on the tee boxes – you had people from Home Alone, Entourage and John McEnroe was there. Then you've got me and Elliot Lee trying to talk to Joe Pesci while he's teeing off."

Fletcher has previously confessed that Wrexham's decision to let him go in May initially left him seething after helping secure promotion from League One, even avoiding calls from Reynolds and Mac for a while. However, reflecting on his career, he has no doubts about where his Wrexham spell ranks.

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He said: "It was the best two years of my career. I won the League Cup with Hibs when I was 21 and thought, 'wow, this is what my career is going to be like'. Then I never won another trophy again. I'd basically spent most of my career fighting relegation.

"To leave Dundee United, who had just been relegated, and all of a sudden find myself going back-to-back promotions with a team very much on the way up, going out to LA for pre-season training and playing golf with Rob, it was incredible."

Fletcher also recalled how routine it became spotting A-list stars around the stadium, including shooting a Super Bowl commercial alongside Channing Tatum . Despite all the razzmatazz, Fletcher maintains that Reynolds and Mac consistently prioritised the squad above everything else.

Wrexham AFC is the arguably the fastest-growing club in the world at the moment thanks to a certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Dragons have achieved three consecutive promotions and are cheered on by crowds from not only North Wales but also from all over the globe, thanks to the success of the Disney+ documentary 'Welcome to Wrexham'.

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He said: "He [Tatum] came in as a kind of motivator for us in this little sketch. I actually got to play a major role in that clip because me and Channing had a little face off. I had a few women in my DMs asking me what he smelled like.

"If we ever wanted anything, they always wanted us to ask. Some of us are pretty quiet, but when it comes to golf, if Rob wants to get me to Augusta, he's more than welcome."

Fletcher netted 16 goals during his stint at Wrexham and revealed he departed with a "heavy heart". For a footballer who spent much of his career battling the drop, however, it represents a period he confesses he could never have envisioned.

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