Hollywood Stars Push for Wrexham's Rise in Football

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the Hollywood owners of Wrexham, have made it clear they want the club to win the Championship title. This would mark a huge leap from the National League to the Premier League.

Wrexham will start their 2026/27 Championship season with a Welsh derby against Cardiff on Monday. Last season, they just missed out on a play-off spot, finishing seventh in the regular season.

They entered the final day in sixth place. But a 2-2 draw at home against Middlesbrough let Hull City move ahead of them into the play-offs. Hull then went on to gain promotion to the Premier League.

Reynolds, who stars in Deadpool, expressed his “obscene pride” in Wrexham’s league finish. McElhenney, his co-owner, reaffirmed their goal to reach the Premier League after playing in the fifth tier of English football only in 2023.

“What we say to players is we want to win and we want to win right now,” McElhenney told the Men in Blazers video podcast. “We don’t want to win at all or any cost. But believe us when we say, we want to win the Championship, go to the Premier League, become the best, because that is what football is about.

“But it’s not just about winning. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself every day.”

In February, the actors marked their fifth year as club owners. Their involvement in Wrexham has reached a global audience thanks to the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary series. This show has also highlighted the local community.

Reynolds jokingly posted on X that he was glad the Iveys “didn’t watch ‘Chernobyl'.” On the podcast, he was reminded about his first visit to the Racecourse Ground in 2021, where he stated that playing top-flight football was Wrexham’s goal.

“The expectation was set so strongly in that first press conference when you even say the words ‘Premier League’ and there’s a wave of laughter that spreads up the stands, out the front door of the Racecourse Ground, across Wales, and then all over the UK,” Reynolds shared.

“I think that in some ways it really worked in our favour. It allows that thing where we are right now that Wrexham is so well-known that a couple in Texas decides to move to Wales. Five years ago, I would probably have said you’re crazy.