Former NFL star J.J. Watt and his wife, Kealia, who is a professional soccer player, announced Monday they’ve become minority investors in Burnley Football Club in England.
In a hilarious video that the couple shared on social media, Watt announced that he’s “officially retiring from retirement” because of his love for football … this time, the European kind.
At one point, the video jokes that Watt “wants to be Ryan Reynolds,” the co-owner of Welsh football club Wrexham AFC, which has been the subject of the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham.
Here’s the full video announcement, which was very well done by the Watts:
Incredibly excited to be joining the @BurnleyOfficial ownership group (and for JJ to have something to do 😂😂) UP THE CLARETS!!! pic.twitter.com/DRIMxPo6oX
— Kealia Ohai Watt (@KealiaOhai) May 1, 2023
Burnley currently sits atop the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, and already has clinched promotion back to the Premier League for the 2023–24 campaign. Before that, the club had spent six seasons in the Premier League, finishing as high as seventh in the table in 2017–18 before slipping to 18th in 2021–22.
“When you invest in a club that’s been around since 1882, you must have great respect for its history and tradition. We understand that not only are we investing in the squad and manager, we’re investing in the town and its people. We take that responsibility very seriously and intend to work hard in earning their trust and support,” the Watts said in a press release.
The release also notes Kealia Watt, who has played for the NWSL’s Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars before giving birth to her and J.J’s first child in October 2022, plans to help Burnley’s women’s club grow.
“Both J.J. and Kealia bring with them an incredible amount of top-level sporting pedigree and success, as well as ideas and connections that will be invaluable in helping us to continue telling the Clarets story to an international audience,” Burnley chairman Alan Pace said.
