Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in talks to invest in Welsh soccer team
It seems a script you simply couldn’t write.
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been named as potential investors in Wrexham AFC, a Welsh soccer team currently playing in English football’s fifth tier.
The club’s supporters trust confirmed that Reynolds, known for appearing in blockbusters such as “Deadpool,” and McElhenney — co-creator and star in US sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” — will have the chance to put forward their proposal for the club at a general meeting.
The trust had previously met to discuss the potential investment, with 97.5% of the members voting in favor.
“As a result, talks with the proposed bidders will now continue and we are in a position to confirm the two people interested in investing in Wrexham AFC,” read a statement from the Wrexham Supporters Trust Board on Wednesday.
“In due course, Mr. McElhenney and Mr. Reynolds will put forward their vision for Wrexham AFC and proposal for members to vote on at a second Special General Meeting.”
The exact nature of the bid is so far unclear but the latest news follows a club statement last week which confirmed the potential investors would immediately invest around $2.5 million.
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Proud club
Wrexham has never played in the top-flight of English football before, but the club has previously reached the FA Cup quarterfinals and famously beat Arsenal in the 1992 FA Cup third round.
The club’s proud history also extends into European tournaments, with its most famous night coming in 1984 when Wrexham beat Porto in the Cup Winners Cup.
Wrexham play their home games at the historic Racecourse Ground — the world’s oldest stadium, according to Guinness World Records — which has a capacity of approximately 10,000. Wrexham is also one of the world’s oldest professional football clubs having been formed back in 1864.
The team is one of a number of Welsh clubs to participate within the English football pyramid. It lost its last home game 1-0 to AFC Telford United.
Wrexham’s Twitter following is 54,500, which is somewhat dwarfed by Reynolds’ 16.5 million followers. Reynolds was listed as the second highest-paid actor by Forbes in 2020.
Although it’s unclear why they would have an interest in Wrexham, both actors have history with investments — Reynolds has had a stake in gin and mobile phone companies.
Despite sounding somewhat far fetched, the potential takeover was possibly predicted eight years ago.
On Wednesday, Canadian Reynolds replied to a somewhat personal tweet from 2012 which read: “You never know when Ryan Reynolds is going to turn up in Wrexham.”
“Yep, you never know,” he wrote back. “I’ve waited 8 years to respond to this tweet.”
The potential takeover has caused quite the stir in the UK with First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford welcoming the news.
“There are huge benefits with being part of Wrexham football club, the oldest football club in Wales, with a fantastic fan base, utterly loyal, owning the club itself,” he told Great Morning Britain on Wednesday.
Speaking about Reynolds’ involvement, Drakeford added: “He’s a Hollywood actor, if he can play center forward, I’m sure he’d be welcome.”
