Thursday 25 August 2022 12:04 PM Welcome To Wrexham: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buy Wales football club in ... trends now
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over the Wrexham Association Football club in Wales during the season premiere on Wednesday of the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham on FX.
The Hollywood stars, both age 45, were shown early in the premiere episode titled Dream on the pitch at Racecourse Ground after buying the third oldest professional association team in the world and the oldest club in Wales.
The second episode titled Reality saw the Wrexham club barely miss the playoffs followed by the quick dismissal of manager Dean Keates and his staff along with 11 players.
Club owners: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over the Wrexham Association Football club in Wales during the season premiere on Wednesday of the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham on FX
Ryan and Rob in the first episode were enthralled when they saw the Racecourse Ground for the first time.
'I don't think the goosebumps are 'cause it's cold,' Ryan said as they took in the world's oldest international football stadium.
'I'm just thinking about how many thousands of people have come to watch these games over the last 150 years. Pretty incredible,' Rob said.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob noted there was real risk for them with their investment.
Reality episode: The second episode titled Reality saw the Wrexham club barely miss the playoffs followed by the quick dismissal of manager Dean Keates and his staff along with 11 players, including Paul Rutherford
'And there is a version of the story...where we are the villains,' Rob said.
They both considered the worst case scenario of failing and having to sell the team.
'F*** that,' Ryan said.
Worst scenario: They both considered the worst case scenario of failing and having to sell the team
'F*** that,' Rob echoed him.
'It's gonna work,' Ryan said.
The premiere episode also introduced London native Humphrey Ker, 39, who has worked with Rob and introduced him to the game.
London native: The premiere episode also introduced London native Humphrey Ker, 39, who has worked with Rob and introduced him to the game
'My mind was racing when I learned about the English system. The idea that you can get promoted into a league above you and demoted and kicked out of the league is incredible,' Rob said in a confessional.
Humphrey with the help of some graphics explained the English professional football system and its pyramid of four tiers with the Premier League at the top as well as the relegation system.
He shared that Wrexham for the past 14 season have been playing in the National League, which is the lowest level of professional football in England.
English system: Humphrey with the help of some graphics explained the English professional football system with its pyramid of four tiers and the Premier League at the top and its relegation system
Big money: The English Premiere League average salary for 2021 was $4.36 million
Much lower: National League players make substantially less than their higher league counterparts
Rob said he talked to Humphrey about buying a team in the lowest league and bringing them to the top.
'But as I started to gather more and more information, I realized how expensive it was going to be. I have TV money, but as I started to look at how expensive it actually was to run a club, I realized that I needed something more than TV money. I needed... Movie-star money,' Rob said.
Ryan was then shown in a clip from his 2002 film National Lampoon's Van Wilder saying, 'Sometimes you got to let your heart lead you, even if you know it's someplace you know you're not supposed to be.'
Movie star: Ryan was then shown in a clip from his 2002 film National Lampoon's Van Wilder saying, 'Sometimes you got to
