27 November 2023 , 13:47
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Wrexham player Paul Mullin has thanked pop megastar Katy Perry for playing a major - if unlikely - role in saving his football career.
In 2021 the 29-year-old joined Wrexham on a three-year deal and he has become a hero at the Welsh club by helping to fire them back into the Football League. But five years ago, the striker was in a completely different position as goals were hard to come by during a spell at Tranmere Rovers.
Not only was he struggling to find the back of the net, but his game time was limited, which left Paul ready to give up on his football dream. But in his new autobiography ‘My Wrexham Story’, Mullin revealed how Perry’s 2010 hit song ‘Firework’ helped re-ignite his love for the game and the person told him to listen to it.
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“One morning I actually said to [my wife] Mollie: ‘I don’t want to go [to training with Tranmere]. I’m not going to play anyway. I can’t be arsed anymore. I just want to stay at home,’” Mullin wrote. “Mollie talked it over with me, and eventually I did set off. On the way, mum rang. ‘I’ve just been listening to a song,’ she told me, ‘and it’s definitely about you.’ ‘OK,’ I said dubiously. ‘What is it?’ ‘Katy Perry,’ she replied. ‘Firework’.
“I put it on in the car and for the first time actually listened to the lyrics. What I heard were amazing words about believing in yourself, unleashing your true potential, and finding that spark. It made me really emotional as I thought about why Mum was telling me to listen. I know everyone in my family loves me, same as I love them, but in that moment it was something really special – ‘Someone actually thinks that about me.’”
This helped Mullin get his career back on track and following an initial loan transfer to Cambridge United in 2020, he made a permanent move to the club in the summer of that year. The forward began to find his feet and scored 36 goals for them in 56 appearances, which earned him the 2020-21 League Two Golden Boot.
Perry's 2010 hit 'Firework' inspired Mullin and helped him play some of his best football after he felt like giving it up (Getty Images)“It was a really big thing for me when I was feeling so low. After the mental drain of Tranmere, I felt I’d had a whole new injection of energy [after joining Cambridge],” he added. “I did everything I could to maintain that feeling, including playing ‘Firework’ as I drove to the ground before every game. At the end of the 2020–21 season, when Cambridge got promoted, mum put it on in her garden to celebrate.”
Once that season had concluded Mullin was signed by Wrexham after he rejected a new contract offer with Cambridge. The 2021-22 season produced a National League Golden Boot after scoring 26 goals in 38 appearances and he was also named the league's Player of the Season.
Mullin stepped up a gear last season as his 38 goals helped Wrexham win the National League and earn promotion to League Two for the first time since 2008. In total, he has scored 88 goals for the Welsh club in 111 appearances. He scored a hat-trick in his last game as Wrexham thrashed Morecambe 6-0 and are currently second in League Two behind leaders Stockport.