A Wrexham statement read: “The club can confirm that the boots revealed by Paul Mullin on social media will not be worn tonight, or in any other Wrexham AFC fixture and that the photographs taken at the Racecourse Ground were done so without our knowledge or approval.

Century has scored the autobiography of Wrexham AFC top goalscorer Paul Mullin. Commissioning editor Callum Crute acquired world rights directly from Nicola Nolan at Unique Sports Group. Seven minutes passed before Mullin, still breathing via the mask, was able to stagger off, and a night that began as the latest chapter in the fairytale story of Wrexham under their Hollywood A-lister owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, curdled for Mullin, who reportedly suffered a punctured lung. None of this should be normal for a club formed in Wrexham’s Turf Hotel. Yet it is now because, as the unfortunate Mullin said in the buildup, “nothing surprises us”.The game became combative 12 minutes in when United’s Nathan Bishop clattered Mullin, who never saw the goalkeeper coming and was left in a heap on the turf. The Wrexham forward required treatment that included receiving oxygen. Mullin commented: "I’m delighted to have been given this opportunity by Penguin Random House to share my story in its truest form. Starting out as a young lad from Liverpool with a love of football and a dream – I feel privileged to be able to share my experiences, both in life and on the pitch. Against all of this United were a junior side apart from the veteran Johnny Evans, who was jittery despite a pedigree of three league titles claimed during his first, 11-year spell at the club. They were also a 10-man proposition less than two minutes into the second half after Dan Gore scythed down Andy Cannon and the referee, Mark Allatin, deemed it a sending-off offence. United’s captain on the night walked off in front of Erik ten Hag, the manager on a watching brief detail only before Thursday’s meeting with Real Madrid in Houston.

The memoir from Wrexham's star player, Paul Mullin, as featured in Welcome to Wrexham, a Disney+ documentary series by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.Wrexham’s refusal to allow Mullin’s footwear was met with criticism from some fans on social media, while Guardian Football Weekly host and Cambridge United fan Max Rushden tweeted in reply: “Prouder of @PMullin7 for this than for all those goals at the Abbey.”

Bishop’s evening, too, took an unwanted turn. Having been shown a yellow card (the first of a total of four in the match), the 23-year-old was booed and jeers subsequently studded every touch of the ball of the former Southend keeper. An evening at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium billed as a fantasy football encounter between a young Manchester United side and Wrexham was bad-tempered and aggressive, featuring a slew of yellow cards, one red, a serious injury to Paul Mullin, a half-naked pitch invader and victory for Phil Parkinson’s League Two team. Emotion swept through the ranks of Binnion’s starlets as Álvaro Fernández joined Bishop in the book for another roughhouse challenge. Binnion could be pleased with how his academy products mixed it with seasoned professionals but less so if competitiveness became a loss of control.The increased recognition has propelled Parkinson and his squad to a point where they found themselves listening to a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner while witnessing a fighter jet flyover as the anthem hit the climatic line of “O’er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave”. After this unwelcome distraction, the club hopes the focus remains on our objectives of gaining promotion on the field and creating community benefit off it, in which Paul Mullin will continue to play a significant part,” the club statement concluded.