- Striker headed to Europe when leaving Liverpool
- Was all set to agree a deal in Santander
- Returned to England to impress in lower leagues
GettyHow Paul Mullin could have remarkably been playing in La Liga before bankruptcy ruined his Spain dream - as Wrexham star reveals he preferred Atletico Madrid to Real

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There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 80%.

Advanced
Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
The VPN can be applied across 12 different devices simultaneously, and offers Advanced Protection that blocks ads, trackers and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is available to be purchased as an add-on.
Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 100MB/month private email relay plus 50 shared aliases and a custom domain, and ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 73%. Both longer-term plans include a 3GB holiday.com eSIM that is valid for three days in 150+ destinations.

Pro
Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's top-tier Express Pro plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
The VPN can be applied across 14 different devices simultaneously, and offers Advanced Protection that blocks ads, trackers and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is included with the Express Pro plan.
Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers an unlimited private email relay plus an unlimited number of shared aliases and 20 custom domains, ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator, and ExpressAI, an AI assistant that offers 500 credits a day, six AI models, a web search facility plus 2GB storage.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save around 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 67%. Both longer-term plans include a 3GB holiday.com eSIM that is valid for five days in 150+ destinations.

Basic
Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's entry-level Basic plan gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
The VPN can be applied across 10 different devices simultaneously, and offers Lite Protection that blocks ads and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is available to be purchased as an add-on.
Additionally, ExpressVPN's Basic plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 10MB/month private email relay plus 10 shared aliases.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 80%.

Advanced
Those that sign up for ExpressVPN's most popular plan, the Advance plan, gain access to a high-speed VPN, which offers high-capacity 40Gbps servers in many high-demand locations, with VPN servers in 113 countries worldwide.
The VPN can be applied across 12 different devices simultaneously, and offers Advanced Protection that blocks ads, trackers and malicious and adult websites. A dedicated IP is available to be purchased as an add-on.
Additionally, ExpressVPN's Advanced plan includes the ExpressMailGuard, which offers a 100MB/month private email relay plus 50 shared aliases and a custom domain, and ExpressKeys, which gives users a password management facility for an unlimited number of passwords plus a 2FA authenticator.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users. The plan is available on a one-month rolling contract, although those that sign up for a 12-month plan (offering one year plus an extra three months) can save more than 60%, while those that sign up for a two-year plan (offering two years plus an extra four months) can save 73%. Both longer-term plans include a 3GB holiday.com eSIM that is valid for three days in 150+ destinations.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The prolific frontman is currently starring for ambitious Welsh outfit Wrexham, having helped to fire them back into the Football League last season. He is working with Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at SToK Racecourse, but his career could have taken a different path had a teenage adventure in Spain not come crashing down around him.
Getty ImagesWHAT MULLIN SAID
Mullin has said in his autobiography ‘My Wrexham Story’ of heading to Europe after being let go by the club that he supported as a boy: “So while I was devastated to be released by Liverpool, I still had hope. As it happened, a friend of my uncle’s, Isaac Gutierrez, was a physio at Spanish La Liga club Racing Santander. I went over for a trial and loved it – and they loved me. I ended up staying out there for three months, to the end of the 2010-11 season. I was only sixteen and my grandad Bobby came with me. That was great for me. In Santander, on Spain’s north coast, we were meant to be staying in an apartment belonging to someone we knew but when we got there it was in a bit of a state, full of dust. ‘We’re not staying here,’ Bobby said, and promptly booked us into the best hotel on the seafront. With the team training in the evenings, we’d spend our days messing about on the beach. When he went home, I moved into digs – a good lesson in independence and growing up. Santander wanted me to sign and, after returning home at the end of the season, I went back in the summer to do just that. At which point the club went into administration. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d got a great new start in Spain only for the club to end up in crisis, and its owner wanted by Interpol. Instead I was left hunting for a club back in the UK.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Mullin could have found himself lining up against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid had things worked out differently, with the 29-year-old saying of his early interest in Spanish football and which side he considers to be his favourite: “Joanne (Mullin's sister) has always been amazing with me. She really did spoil me badly, even buying me games for my PlayStation Portable. When we went to Madrid to visit Jonathan (Mullin's brother), who was living out there at the time, she took me to a big shopping centre and bought me a new Atlético Madrid kit – she knew I preferred them to Real.”
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MULLIN?
Mullin ended up at Wrexham in the summer of 2021, shortly after Reynolds and McElhenney’s takeover of the club, and has hit 85 goals for them through 110 appearances. He is now a firm fan favourite in North Wales and is hoping to see his current employers become a top-tier outfit at some stage in the future.
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Buy your copy of Paul Mullin's brilliant new autobiography My Wrexham Story on Amazon.
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