Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney attend the Welcome To Wrexham screening after the team’s promotion
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were all smiling Saturday as they attended the FYC event for Welcome to Wrexham in LA.
The two Hollywood stars co-own Wrexham AFC after buying the Wales side in 2020.
Last Saturday, the team secured promotion to the English Football League with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood.
Ryan and Rob, both 46, still looked high on victory as they attended the screening of Welcome to Wrexham at the Television Academy – after a second season was announced on Thursday.
Ryan looked smart in a muted red polo shirt as he put his arm around his best friend Rob.
Success: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney beamed as they attended the screening for Welcome To Wrexham in LA on Saturday
New: The Deadpool Star, 46, answered questions after the series was renewed for a second series
The star beamed as he answered interview questions and retold the story of his beloved club’s success.
A corollary to the takeover was the making of a fly-on-the-wall documentary entitled Welcome to Wrexham.
The show’s first season premiered in August 2022 and revolved around the Hollywood stars’ intent to revive the third-oldest professional football club in the world.
And the second season – which will air later in 2023 – is likely to have a happy ending thanks to recent promotion.
The series charted the journey of a historic but unhappy football team run by two actors who learn the finer points of owning a sports club.
Ryan himself is still ‘speechless’ about Wrexham AFC’s return to the English Football League.
The Deadpool star admitted that ‘dumb luck’ helped the side secure league football for the first time in 15 years.
He told Access Hollywood, “I’m still kind of speechless about it to be completely honest. I mean, so many things had to go, right? That brought dumb luck.
Friends: Ryan and Rob bought Wrexham FC in 2020 and have now seen it promoted to the English Football League (pictured with Jimmy Kimmel)
On a high: Ryan has said he still can’t believe Wrexham have been promoted
Series: Welcome To Wrexham is a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the Hollywood star takeover of the Welsh side
“Besides of course laying a pretty strong foundation there at the club, but like a lot of things went well, things you would never expect as any other team have been incredible this whole season, which created such tension, not just in Wrexham .” , I think globally as people watched Wrexham, but it was quite a remarkable journey.’
Rob added: ‘It was just a great run.’
The pair bought the Wales side in 2020 and the Always Sunny in Philadelphia star is delighted to be working with Ryan.
The cheering ‘Free Guy’ star had previously admitted that his side’s victory, securing promotion, had left him ‘giggling and sobbing’.
Ryan — who was joined at the game by Rob and fellow Hollywood star Paul Rudd — wrote on Twitter at the time, “Everything I own smells like champagne, beer and grass.
I’m still somewhere between giggling and sobbing.
“This city and this sport is one of the most romantic things on earth. Thank you, @Wrexham_AFC’
The crunch game took place last Saturday night and despite being in the humble National League, the team now has a global following thanks to its Hollywood owners.
Fans stormed the pitch after the final whistle and as the cameras turned to the co-owners, Reynolds and McElhenney seemed to shed a tear as they took in the incredible scene of Wrexham FC celebrating the monumental victory.
Fun: Wrexham were promoted to the Football League for the first time in 15 years last Saturday after a dramatic 3-1 win against Boreham Wood
Success: Wrexham needed the win to secure promotion to the Football League with one game to go – and their fans cheered them all the way from the moment it kicked off at 6.30pm
Wrexham needed the win to secure promotion to the Football League with one game to go – and their fans cheered them from the moment it started at 6.30pm.
But the North Wales team were 1-0 down when a goal from their opponents silenced the stands after 40 seconds. They didn’t stop for long, and Elliot Lee brought the score back to 1-1 after 14 minutes.
In the second half, super scorer Paul Mullin scored a second AND third goal – a brilliant goal into the top right corner – putting them in the best possible position for a win and promotion.
Even the Prince of Wales took the opportunity to congratulate the team on Saturday night’s huge victory.
Prince William wrote on Twitter: ‘Congratulations @Wrexham_AFC! A club with such a great history, looking forward to a very exciting future in the Football League. making Wales proud. W.’
Reynolds and McElhenney seem to have become football fanatics since buying the Welsh club out of the blue in 2021 for $2.5 million.
Wrexham return to EFL League Two for the first time in 15 years – three divisions below the top flight of English football, the Premier League.
Wrexham has a proud history as the third oldest professional football club in the world, with glorious successes including an FA Cup win over Arsenal and a European Cup Winners’ Cup victory against Porto.
But they had fallen on hard times when financial problems ended an 87-year stay in the Football League in 2008.
Now they’re back in conditions that a Hollywood screenwriter would struggle to match.
Reynolds is best known for starring in the ‘Deadpool’ movies while McElhenney is the creator of the TV show ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’.
One of their stated goals in buying Wrexham from the club’s fans was to lead the 158-year-old club – the world’s third oldest professional club – into the Premier League and the journey is well underway.