Actors and Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have bought a minority stake in Liga MX side Club Necaxa, Variety and Sportico reported on Monday.
The pair join famed minority owner-actor Eva Longoria, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, model Kate Upton and NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
It is unclear what role the RR McReynolds Company will play at Necaxa, although the pair are expected to convey many of the hallmarks that have made Welsh club Wrexham a global brand, including a potential docuseries similar to Welcome to Wrexham, pending of rights issues. with Club Necaxa’s broadcast partners.
Liga MX, Mexico’s top league, was the biggest soccer draw in the US until 2023 The Premier League is now over the Mexican league is the most watched league in the US, but Liga MX continues to draw TV figures on par with the biggest Premier League games. The 2023 Apertura final between América and Tigres attracted as many viewers as a Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool in the same season, both drawing 2.3 million viewers in the US.
With the growth of the Premier League, Liga MX now ranks second in US television ratings, ahead of the Bundesliga, the German top flight and Major League Soccer.
Club Necaxa, located in Aguascalientes, has been around for more than 100 years. Americans Al Tylis and Sam Porter led a group that bought a 50% stake in the club in 2021 and other investors joined in 2022 for a stake worth more than $200 million, according to the reports. According to Sportico, Reynolds and McElhenney join as part of that group.
Since taking over McElhenney-Reynolds in February 2021, the pair have helped bring global attention to Wrexham. The FX show, which has had two seasons and will air a third series in May, has earned five Emmys, including outstanding unstructured reality program.
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The club were promoted to League One, the third division of English football, earlier this month after a 6-0 win over Forest Green. “If you told me a few years ago that I would be crying tears of joy over a football match in North Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney,” Reynolds wrote on X after the club was promoted. “Congratulations to Wrexham and my co-chairman in crime. Double the city! This is the ride of our lives.”
It was the club’s second promotion in two years under Reynolds and McElhenney’s ownership.
Wrexham recently announced a preseason tour of the US in July. They play Bournemouth in Santa Barbara on July 20, Chelsea in Santa Clara on July 24 and the Vancouver White Caps on July 27.