Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are not only business partners and co-owners of Wrexham, but also great friends outside of all that too.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds made their names in Hollywood, and they’ve since made their names in English football in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Taking over Wrexham in late 2021, few would imagine the journey that would unfold up to now: Wrexham becoming a global name in football, Paul Mullin featuring in a blockbuster movie, and Wrexham being promoted to the Championship.
Next season, the Dragons will play in the second tier of English football for the first time in more than 40 years, with reports that Wrexham have a £25million transfer budget for this summer.
What Reynolds and McElhenney have done for the club and the city is unheard of, and it’s surely an achievement that both cherish.
Ryan Reynolds hails ‘friend’ Rob McElhenney at Wrexham
McElhenney is very much involved with the club. Towards the end of last season, McElhenney was in the stands away at Blackpool, cheering on his players before Reynolds then joined for the season finale against Charlton Athletic.
Speaking on Men in Blazers, Reynolds has now said exactly what he thinks of McElhenney and their friendship, and what McElhenney is like behind the scenes at the Racecourse. Reynolds said: “Rob is just filled with accountability and integrity, and that’s something I will always value, over almost anything.
“It helps that he’s smart as hell and understands scaling and I think we both meet at this weird intersection of like, commerce and art which are antithetical to each other, so we both understand that, he runs his shows I produce my movies. I’m in charge of my budgets he’s in charge of his budgets, we’re responsible with it”
Reynolds later added: “As a friend, Rob’s the guy, that if I’m going through something he doesn’t text you he picks up the phone, he just calls you facetime video. That’s a friend.”
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Why Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds were the dream fit for Wrexham
When Reynolds and McElhenney took over Wrexham in 2021, it was certainly a strange one: two Hollywood actors taking over a football club that had been lurking in the non-league for more than a decade.
But they’ve been the dream fit. Aided by their sheer status and also the Welcome to Wrexham series, with season five of Welcome to Wrexham now confirmed too, the club has managed to make a serious amount of money.
Speaking recently, Humphrey Ker revealed how Wrexham earn sponsorship money, but instead of that money lining the owners’ pockets, it’s reinvested. That’s where Reynolds and McElhenney’s business acumen comes in handy, and where their genuinely good personas come in handy too.
They clearly want to do right by the club and it’s set an example for so many other football teams around the world.