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Ryan Reynolds says he and Rob McElhenney don’t make Wrexham ‘football decisions’

Ryan Reynolds says he and fellow Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney do not make any “football decisions” at the Championship club.

Ryan Reynolds says he and fellow Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney do not make any “football decisions” at the Championship club.

Wrexham have had a meteoric rise under their Hollywood owners, becoming the first team in the history of English football’s top five divisions to secure three successive promotions.

Reynolds and McElhenney were at the SToK Cae Ras on Saturday to watch Wrexham play their first home game in the second tier of English football since May 1982.

Wrexham v West Bromwich Albion – Sky Bet Championship – SToK Cae Ras
Wrexham’s celebrity owners Rob McElhenney (left) and Ryan Reynolds watch in the stands during West Brom’s 3-2 win at the Racecourse Ground (Cody Frogatt/PA)

But there was no Hollywood ending as West Brom won 3-2 to leave the Red Dragons without a Championship point after two games.

“We have a very hands-off management style,” Deadpool star Reynolds told Sky Sports.

“Our job is to listen, learn, and tell the story. And that’s I think a great position for any ownership group to be in, to really just be there to support and tell the story.

“We don’t make football decisions. And it’s actually the great gift of that is that we’re able to have relationships with the players at Wrexham, whereas most people in our position can’t.

Wrexham v West Bromwich Albion – Sky Bet Championship – SToK Cae Ras
Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds (centre) and Rob McElhenney (left) speaking with the club’s former striker Steven Fletcher following the 3-2 home defeat to West Brom (Cody Froggatt/PA)

“So we have a relationship with every single one of our players.”

The Welsh club’s commercial success – fuelled by Reynolds and McElhenney’s celebrity status and the award-winning ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series – has allowed them to invest heavily in Phil Parkinson’s squad with nine summer signings.

Wrexham have broken their transfer record three times this summer and Wales striker Nathan Broadhead, signed from Ipswich in a deal worth up to £10million, made his debut against West Brom.

McElhenney said: “It’s interesting to get accolades when you hear people say, “Oh, you guys have done a pretty good job with the club.

Wrexham v West Bromwich Albion – Sky Bet Championship – SToK Cae Ras
Wrexham have yet to pick up a point in the Championship after opening defeats to Southampton and West Brom (Cody Froggatt/PA)

“The truth is we don’t really have anything to do with what happens out on the pitch.

“We’ve got our very specific job, which is to be clowns and to tell the story as best we can.

“But also to be as respectful as we possibly can to what Phil does on the pitch and what the executive team, Michael (Williamson) and Shaun (Harvey) and Humphrey (Ker) and everybody does off the pitch.

“We just have an incredible team and we just get to sit back and be fans and document the process.”