Paul Rudd has arrived in Wrexham to support friend Ryan Reynolds’ football team as fans hope for promotion to the Football League.
The American actor 54 has been spotted drinking beer and singing along to Kentucky chants at North Wales’ Turf pub ahead of Wrexham FC’s crunch match against Borehamwood.
Non-league Wrexham are one win away from winning promotion to the Football League – and there will be millions more than North Wales’ 10,000 attendees roaring them for a 6.30pm kick-off this weekend.
Backed by Hollywood couple Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham has proved to be a huge hit with fans across the United States, so much so that fandom has now become a daily way of life for many.
Rudd looked like he fit right in with the Wrexham fans, who all looked in good spirits, enjoying a few beers from plastic cups while singing along to the football chants.
Nice to see you here! Paul Rudd has arrived in Wrexham to support friend Ryan Reynolds’ football team as fans hope for promotion to the Football League
Supporter: The American actor, 54, has been spotted drinking beer and singing along to Kentucky chants at North Wales’ Turf pub ahead of Wrexham FC’s crunch match against Borehamwood
Having a few: Non-league Wrexham are one win away from winning promotion to the Football League – and there will be millions more than North Wales’ 10,000 attendees roaring them for a 6.30pm kick-off this weekend
Many fans stopped the Hollywood A-lister for a selfie, and his arrival even made ‘Paul Rudd’ popular on Twitter.
He was in London for the past few days shooting for Ghostbusters: Afterlife along with co-cast members William Atherton and Ernie Hudson.
They were seen take to the streets outside St James’ Park tube station to film scenes for the 2021 film sequel, along with an iconic prop car associated with the shoot.
Wrexham are about to end a 15-year wait to win promotion from non-league, are gearing up for a US tour this summer, where they face Manchester United, and also have season two of Welcome to Wrexham that later in the year as they look to capture the hearts and minds of even more people in America.
Sat in San Diego last month to announce the blockbuster friendly against Manchester United, McElhenney is confident Wrexham can become America’s team for years to come.
“We have said from day one that we want to raise awareness of the club and turn it into a global business,” said McElhenney.
“We’ve been really lucky that Americans seem to have gravitated towards the documentary and fallen in love with the city.”
The team is the trend for most game days on social media in the US and even more so in recent weeks as the promotion approaches – even with competition from basketball, baseball and hockey.
Wrexham’s players will also share bonuses of £200,000 if they are promoted to League Two tomorrow by beating Boreham Wood after opting to waive win bonuses during the season.
Selfie: Backed by Hollywood couple Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham has proved to be a huge hit with fans across the United States, so much so that for many the fandom has now become a daily way of life
Getting in the mood: Rudd looked like he fit right in with the Wrexham fans who all looked in high spirits, enjoying a few beers while singing along to the football chants
Cheers! Many fans stopped the Hollywood A-lister for a selfie, and his arrival even made ‘Paul Rudd’ popular on Twitter
Welcome: He’s been in London for the past few days shooting for Ghostbusters: Afterlife alongside co-cast members William Atherton and Ernie Hudson
Team talk: Paul chatted to Wrexham fans at the local pub ahead of the 6.30pm kick-off
Bustle: Wrexham’s Turf Pub was packed with fans and Rudd’s performance made the atmosphere even noisier
Fans: The Hollywood star was naturally stopped for photos and looked happy doing so while holding a beer for the occasion
Happy days: Paul soaked up the atmosphere before hitting the Wrexham ground
On Friday, Mail Sport learned that Phil Parkinson’s team propped themselves up to promotion at the start of the season by agreeing to only receive win bonuses if they were in the top three throughout the campaign, in return for a bigger payout if they reached their ultimate goal.
The players’ negotiations with Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been led by captain Ben Tozer, whose confidence in his teammates appears to be paying off.
Wrexham is the highest payer in the National League, where the average weekly wage is around £1,000, but a promotion bonus of around £20,000 per man will still be a big incentive for players.
The club will also receive an immediate financial windfall from promotion, worth around £1 million in central revenue-sharing payments from the EFL, and will also benefit from the increased global profile of league football.