James McClean reveals only regret after severing ties with 'incredible' Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at 'Disney FC'

McClean, who boasts Premier League experience from spells at Sunderland and West Brom, dropped down into League Two when joining the Red Dragons in 2023. He helped them to back-to-back promotions, completing a memorable hat-trick for the club, and took on captaincy duties while making over 100 appearances.

He has now traded the north of Wales for Northern Ireland, but treads that path with many happy memories to look back on. He was taken to the hearts of Wrexham natives, and a couple of A-list chairmen, with McClean having always given 100 per cent to any given cause - riling up opposition supporters as he went about that business.

McClean has posted on Instagram when sending a farewell message to a club that continues to take aim at reaching the big time in the not too distant future: “Been going over and over in my head to try somehow put into words what this club @wrexham_afc has meant to me since I signed and truth be told no matter what words I write it wont do justice to express the feeling.

“I’ll try so here it goes, it's genuinely been the most incredible and enjoyable couple of years I have had, a huge thank you to @vancityreynolds and @robmac who are two incredible people by the way for giving me the opportunity to be part of the magic that is Wrexham or to people outside of Wrexham ‘Disney FC’, the management staff who believed in me and gave me the honour to captain this club to history, the medical staff, the staff around the ground, the fans who have been incredible and welcomed me from day one, no politics, no media perceptions just football, this club have been incredible and showed a real touch of class in making my move back home easy.

“Finally and certainly not least of all the players, who I shared the dressing room with, battles on the pitch with and the glories off the pitch with Vegas etc enough said, while creating great friendships (don’t cry @andy14cannon you’ll set me off, it’s not goodbye you can still visit) we created a bond and togetherness like no other.

“My only regret is i couldn’t have been a few years younger when joining this journey because this club is only going to go on and create more magic but that's football. It’s been a real honour and a real pleasure and I wish yous nothing but further success because the squad has real real quality here to achieve this. Up the history making back to back to back Red Dragons.”

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Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has said of allowing McClean to move on, with alternative options being favoured at present as the Red Dragons push for a top-six finish in the Championship: “I had a good chat with Jimmy last week. The time is right for him and his family. He always wanted to settle back in his hometown and he has the opportunity to finish his career there.

“He’s been a great servant to the club, and we’ve really enjoyed working with him. He’s been an important player over the last few years for us, with his drive, determination, mentality, and his professionalism, and we wish him and his family all the best.”

McClean leaves Wrexham with the Red Dragons sat 10th in the Championship table, three points adrift of the play-off places. There is the promise of more money being invested in their Premier League promotion bid before the January transfer window slams shut, having already splashed out more than £30 million ($40m) during a historic spending spree in the summer of 2025.