Ryan Reynolds amused the BBC pundits Alan Shearer and co. by claiming it would be a "miracle" if Sheffield United beat minnows Wrexham in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Hollywood actor Reynolds has been co-owner of the non-league club since completing a takeover with TV star Rob McElhenney in 2021. The leaders of the National League narrowly missed out on promotion last season but stunned Championship side Coventry in the third round to set up their clash with the Blades.
Ahead of kick-off, Reynolds rubbed shoulders with Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and pundits Alan Shearer in the studio. He left the panel in hysterics, while also making ambitious points about his hopes for a club which last played in the Football League more than a decade ago.
“I get nervous for a match like today," Reynolds said. "Sheffield United are three leagues above us, 70 teams above us. It’s a classic David vs Goliath.
“You guys know this more than anybody on earth, this is football. This is the beautiful game. And I’m going to go on record and say there’s a chance…albeit a slim chance that Sheffield United pulls off a miracle today!”
The classic bait and switch left former England striker Shearer with a wide grin across his face. The Canadian's comments also caught the attention of ex-Wales boss Hughes, whose Bradford City side could end up facing Wrexham in League Two next term.
What have you made of Ryan Reynolds' time at Wrexham? Have your say in the comments section
“In 10 years’ time the plan has and always will be the Premier League," Reynolds explained. "If it’s theoretically possible to go from the fifth tier to the Premier League, why wouldn’t we try?
"Nobody has ever done anything great in this world thinking: ‘You know what, let’s go halfway’, so let’s go all the way and we believe we can do that. Call us crazy, but that's what we want to do.
“Because we’re in this church today [the Racecourse Ground], if I was Sheffield United I’d be taking this game very seriously. That’s all I’ll say.”
Ahead of the game, it was revealed that Wrexham have sold some 24,000 replica shirts during the 2022-23 season. They spoke to Wrexham chairman Shaun Harvey on the Rob, Ryan, Red podcast, where he confirmed the number.
"At first, well, I thought we'd ordered too many," Harvey said. "And I suspect if you'd have asked most people how many they think we should order at the start of the year, they wouldn't have got to 24,000 either.”
Wrexham needed to get past three opponents just to reach the third round of the cup. Blyth Spartans, Oldham Athletic and Farnborough Town were all seen off to set up their trip to a Coventry side three tiers above them in the pyramid, and Phil Parkinson's side survived a late fightback from the Sky Blues to set up their fourth round game.
