On February 9, 2021, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney closed on the $2 million purchase of Wrexham AFC. Members of the town’s cricket club established the club in 1864, making it Wales’s first professional football team. The club announced in September 2020 that two “extremely well-known individuals of high net worth” had expressed interest in purchasing the organization. Both Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, whose identities were later revealed, have stated publicly that they want to see the club promoted back to the English Football League.
In 2009, Wrexham was relegated from the English Football League to the National Football League, and its Supporters Trust bought the club the following year. The Trust could pay off the accumulated bills due to persistent money issues, but it could not make any progress. The Trust, however, was not interested in selling when Reynolds and McElhenney first approached them.
For what reason did Ryan Reynolds acquire Wrexham AFC?
It was Rob McElhenney’s idea to buy a football club, as Reynolds told The Athletic, but they settled on Wrexham AFC as a team. Reynolds stated, “Rob bought a club in the lower leagues intending to turn it into a world power and sent me an email explaining his strategy. I love starting businesses, and this is a business, so it seemed like a great opportunity.”
During an additional interview with Alison Hammond of This Morning, Reynolds explained why they chose to purchase Wrexham AFC. “It was a tempting offer, at least on paper. We checked out several different teams, but what struck me most about Wrexham was how deeply ingrained the city’s love of football is.”
One viewer of the Welcome to Wrexham trailer wonders aloud, “What was the connection between you and Wrexham Football Club?” McElhenney says in response, “Our communication was indirect at best. Just an intuition.” The National League is the fifth and final tier of English football, below the Premier League and the three levels of the English Football League, where Wrexham AFC currently plays.
Wrexham AFC lost a play-off match against Grimsby in May this year by the slimmest of margins. Because of this loss, Wrexham will spend its 15th season in non-League football, marking the sixth time in the club’s history that it failed to achieve promotion via the playoffs.
How do the Wrexham faithful feel about Ryan Reynolds?
Wrexham football fans have stuck by Ryan Reynolds despite the team’s recent failure to win the FA Trophy. In April of 2022, following a 2-0 victory over Stockport County, fans serenaded the Canadian actor with a song. After the game, chants of “there’s only one Ryan Reynolds” could be heard throughout the stadium. For the first time since 2015, Wrexham AFC will play in the FA Trophy final after their victory.
When was the last time Ryan Reynolds visited Wrexham?
At the very least three times, Ryan Reynolds has been to Wrexham. McElhenney came twice in 2022 and once in 2021. In October 2021, the couple made their first trip to the Welsh city. When the travel ban imposed by the Covids that August prevented them from making the trip, they were disappointed.
While in Wrexham, they watched the home game against Torquay. Four days earlier, they had traveled to Maidenhead to watch their first game as club owners. Also, in February 2022, 12 months after he and McElhenney took over the club, Reynolds visited Wrexham for the first time since October that year. Reynolds is said to have spent most of his time at the stadium mingling with the team’s players and staff. A year later, in May 2022, Reynolds and McElhenney returned to Wrexham to witness the club’s devastating semi-final loss to Grimsby.
Ryan Reynolds’s Net Worth
By 2021, Ryan Reynolds had amassed a net worth of $109 million. His current net worth is around £127 million (or $150 million). It’s no surprise that the Canadian actor is worth a ton of money, given his success in several Hollywood films like Deadpool, as well as a few profitable business ventures.
Is there anything else in Ryan Reynolds’s possession?
Previously, Ryan Reynolds was the owner of Aviation Gin, and he now owns US mobile virtual network operator Mint Mobile. As of August 2020, Reynolds had parted ways with his premium gin brand Aviation American Gin for a cool $610 million to Diego, the world’s most giant spirits and beers producer. Reynolds had acquired a partial ownership interest in the gin company in 2018.
It has been reported that the asking price for Mint Mobile is between $600 million and $800 million. In 2019, Reynolds invested in the prepaid carrier and became a partial owner.