Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrate after Wrexham beat rivals 3-2

Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney celebrated after the club’s victory against Notts County.

The pair celebrated as Wrexham beat the game by five goals to win 3-2 against Notts County at the Racecourse ground today.

It moves Wrexham closer to automatic promotion from the domestic to the football league after taking 103 points.

Locals at the Red Lion pub in Marford, Wales, also dubbed the boozer “Red Ryan” in homage to the Candian actor.

Aled Howells, 51, said: ‘Ryan and Rob have changed the club. I’m so glad Ryan is moving to Marford, we’d love to have a pint with him.’

Aled’s brother Marc Howells, 50, said: ‘I feel like I had about three heart attacks watching it. They should have a defibrillator outside the pub.

“But the town, the area and the club have a really good feel at the moment and that’s thanks to the owners.”

Dai Jones, 54, and Mark Slater, 52, watched the game with Aled and Marc.

Mr Jones said, ‘It’s such a good story, Ryan and Rob have put the town on the map. It’s brilliant.’

Mr. Slater added, “I haven’t seen a game like this in ages – end-to-end stuff. We are now in the driver’s seat for promotion and I hope we can keep it that way.’

Wearing her Wrexham shirt proudly, Bethany Williams, 27, said: ‘Ryan will be welcomed with open arms in this village and pub… which we have renamed The Red Ryan in his honour! It’s so exciting to be a Wrexham fan right now.’

It comes after Reynolds joined Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney in a crunch promotion clash this afternoon – after the pair were awarded borough freedom in a low-key ceremony.

Deadpool actor Reynolds, 46, who emerged today, has bought a £1.5million house in a village near the town in Wales, and McElhenney received the honor after pumping £10million when the club made a bid to return to the Football League.

However, the ceremony – attended by invited councilors and other local dignitaries – took place behind closed doors, with only a film crew believed to be part of the team behind the Disney Plus documentary series Welcome to Wrexham capturing the event.

At today’s ceremony, Reynolds recalled his first meeting with the Wrexham supporters’ club via Zoom as the pair attempted to launch their 2020 takeover. nervous as I was at that exact moment’.

He continued with a laugh: ‘And I realized I was wrong, and that was second after a game with Notts County tied on 100 points!

“So I haven’t slept in a few days in anticipation of this.”

Reynolds added that he was “so moved to be a part of this story.”

“I know we’re here so you can thank us for some reason. But I feel like it’s the other way around and we want to thank you.

“What you’ve given us is something I could never do… words are too clumsy to quantify what it means to me, what it means to Rob…”

The award comes after civic leaders praised the duo for their contribution to the city’s “global promotion.”

Council leader Mark Pritchard said: ‘Football is the beating heart of our community and there has always been incredible passion and support for the club.

“We have a great story here in Wrexham, along with a unique character and identity that is winning over fans around the world.

‘These two Hollywood actors have made an incredible impact on both the football club and the community and have helped catapult Wrexham onto the world stage.

“You couldn’t wish to meet two nicer people – they really are two great guys.”

After being nominated for the honor last year, McElhenney and Reynolds said in a statement that it “recognizes that we have begun to achieve what we set out to achieve, off the field.”

“This is not about us, we created an opportunity that the community first embraced and is now seizing,” they added.

But the award of Wrexham’s top honors was opposed by two Conservative councilors after Reynolds liked an Instagram post from club striker Paul Mullin with the words ‘f*** the Tories’.

During his speech last December, group leader Hugh Jones said the honor’s “timing, values ​​and priorities” were “wrong.”

“We are awarding liberty at a time when one of their star players has spread a hate message to part of our community, and one of the owners has liked an Instagram post with that same hate message,” he said. .

Wrexham AFC has said the club takes a ‘neutral stance’ on politics.

Afterwards, Reynolds and McElhenney were photographed at Wrexham’s Racecourse ground ahead of the Easter Monday kick-off at 3pm.

The Red Dragons suffered their first loss in 27 National League games at the hands of Halifax on Good Friday, ceding first place to Notts County, with both sides on 100 points with five games remaining.

Last week Reynolds posted on Instagram: ‘A few big weeks ahead for Wrexham FC. Nervous as hell.’

It emerged on the eve of the match that Reynolds had bought a house in the quiet nearby village of Marford for a reported £1.5 million.

A resident told the Sun: ‘The most famous person from Marford is Tim Vincent from Blue Peter, so being a Hollywood star is one step up!

“It may not be the Big Apple, but the red carpet will be rolled out when Ryan comes to town.”

The four-bed property – which is five miles from Wrexham’s ground – is nonetheless a step down from the £4.3 million home in New York where he lives with his wife Blake Lively, 35, and their children.

Reynolds, along with co-chairman Rob McElhenney, has helped transform Welsh team Wrexham FC and has had tremendous success documenting their progress in season one of their ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series.

In August last year, Reynolds revealed that his wife wasn’t particularly happy when he told her he bought the Welsh team with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor McElhenney.

In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! he said, “I remember seeing Blake and saying, ‘I’ve got some bad news and I’ve got some really bad news.’ I slipped into someone’s DMs again. The really bad news is I may have bought half of a fifth tier national football league in Wales.”

However, Mrs. Lively has been caught cheering on Reynold’s club. In May last year, the pair saw Wrexham take on Bromley in the Buildbase FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium in London.