Ryan Reynolds joked he confessed to his wife, Blake Lively, that he had some "bad news" and had "slipped into someone's DMs" when he told her he'd bought Wrexham AFC with fellow actor Rob McElhenney.
During the first lockdown in 2020, Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator McElhenney decided he wanted to become the owner of a football club in England. As a passionate Philadelphia Eagles supporter, McElhenney had admitted he had loved British culture and football fans, as he begun exploring options of owning a team himself, being made aware of Wrexham AFC.
As he admits in the Disney + documentary Welcome to Wrexham, though, he could not do it alone, and contacted his friend, Hollywood superstar Reynolds, to see if he would be interested. At this point, Reynolds knew very little about football, but was interested by the project that McElhenney presented and agreed.
But his wife, fellow Hollywood superstar Lively, wasn't too keen on Reynolds taking on the challenge of owning the club. Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, to discuss the series with guest host McElhenney, Reynolds said: "I remember after you contacted about this absolutely crazy idea and I remember seeing Blake, saying, ‘I have bad news and I have really bad news. The bad news is I slipped into someone’s DM. The really bad news is that I could have bought half of a fifth tier national football league in Wales".
Just less than a year later, the two would officially become co-owners of the football club - before they had even met each other. The two would become close friends, and finally travelled over to see a game for the first time in October 2021. Since then, the two have become hooked on the sport - being spotted in Wrexham every few months and are beloved by the locals, with a band even writing a song for them which is sung on the terraces at home games.
The documentary shows that McElhenney was the one who initiated the decision to take over the club, with him initially being more emotionally invested. But when Reynolds visited Wrexham by himself to film a commercial, he would stay for their FA Trophy semi-final against Stockport County, which would end in dramatic fashion as Paul Mullin scored two goals in the 90th minute to book their place in Wembley.
Reynolds had his name sung by the 10,000 fans in attendance, as he stated that was the day he truly fell in love with football. He said: "I was so into this endeavour as a zoomed out macro project that involved a club, a business and a community and how those intersect.
"I didn't expect to take the red pill, with respect to Wrexham, and go down that rabbit-hole to understand their DNA and their passion and love for this club. It transcends wins and losses. I don't think I ever really understand football, but that Stockport match, now I feel it in my bones."
Welcome to Wrexham was recently renewed for a second season, as the team hope to gain promotion back to the EFL for the first time in 14 years. They've started strongly, currently sitting second in the National League, three points behind Notts County.
