One of Wrexham‘s star players has earned comparisons to Lionel Messi after helping his team’s promotion charge.

Ollie Rathbone scored the second goal for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney‘s club as they eased to a 2-0 win at Northampton Town on Saturday. The midfielder’s first half strike was his fourth of the season for the Red Dragons after signing from Rotherham United for £500,000 last summer.

The 28-year-old was one of two former Manchester United academy graduates to notch in the League One tie as club record signing Sam Smith grabbed the opener. The result saw third-placed Wrexham pile the pressure on Wycombe Wanderers in second as they cut the gap to just two points in the race for automatic promotion, while Birmingham City are flying ahead at the top of the table.

Rathbone earned high praise from his team-mate Steven Fletcher after the match as he likened him to eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi. The ex-Premier League striker shared an image on Instagram showing Rathbone celebrating his goal against Northampton alongside a picture of Messi adopting a similar pose.

The post was captioned: “Everything you have been saying makes sense now”. Speaking to the BBC after the game, Rathbone admitted that improving his goal return had been a key focus for him at Wrexham.

He said: “It was something I really wanted to add to my game. It’s something I’ve wanted to improve because I knew I had it in me. I’ve probably just put more emphasis on it and I’ve really tried working on it in training so my confidence is up.

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 two 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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“I think the competition for places makes it hugely important – all the other midfielders are chipping in with goals so it’s important I keep doing that.”

Rathbone was also commended by fellow goalscorer Smith, who came up through United’s youth system at around the same time as him. Both players count the likes of Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Axel Tuanzebe among their former team-mates.

Smith joined Wrexham from League One rivals Reading for a reported fee of £2million during the January transfer window. He opened his account for the club against Northampton after latching on to a long ball from goalkeeper Mark Howard in the 19th minute, taking his total league goal tally for the season up to 12.

“I didn’t put any pressure on it…but it was a special feeling (to get my first goal). There was a good following today and it’s a moment I won’t forget,” Smith told Wrexham’s YouTube channel.

Discussing Rathbone’s performance, he said: “ It’s a credit to Ollie. He lands on everything, and he’s got so much energy in midfield. It was a good finish. When you go 2-0 up you have that safety zone, and you can protect the game a little bit more.”

The praise was reciprocated by Rathbone, who hailed Smith’s contribution since arriving at the Racecourse. He also singled out Jay Rodriguez for his efforts after signing from Burnley last month.

Rathbone said: “I knew Sam from our time at the academy when we were younger, so it’s been great to link up with him. They’ve both settled in really well, but that’s because they’ve got great work ethics, great personalities, and that comes down to the manager.”

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