Tom Goodenough Tom Goodenough

Is Wrexham’s Hollywood fairytale heading for an unhappy ending? 

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds celebrate as Wrexham is promoted to the English Football League (Credit: Getty images)

Wrexham’s Hollywood dream seems almost too good to be true. The club spent years in the doldrums of the football league, its lack of success on the pitch matched by financial troubles off it. In 2004, the club plunged into the relegation zone after it was placed into administration. A few years later, in 2008, the side even dropped out of the league altogether. But then, in 2020, two handsome saviours arrived – and now the club’s troubles appear to be over.

There’s something uncomfortable about two rich Hollywood guys larping around with British working-class culture

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who made their fame and fortune starring in films such as Deadpool (Reynolds) and the TV series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (McElhenney), are model owners. They put their hands in their pockets to pay for players and have vowed to fork out to develop the club’s worn-out ground. Wrexham has now been promoted and is linked with ex-Real Madrid star – and Wales’ greatest ever footballer – Gareth Bale (even if he subsequently scotched reports that he would join). Reynolds and McElhenney join supporters in the pub, doing shots and putting cash behind the bar for fans to celebrate their team’s success. ‘They just come across as really nice blokes,’ according to one fan. 

But a question looms over this rags-to-riches tale: what happens when the cameras stop rolling? Welcome to Wrexham has been a huge hit for Disney+. The docu-series, which has charted the rise and rise of Wrexham, is particularly popular in the United States: some Yanks now include a trip to Wrexham’s Turf Hotel pub, which has appeared on the show, on their itinerary during their holiday to the UK. This summer, a US tour has been mooted to North Carolina, so that Wrexham’s new fan base can see their side in the flesh. 

Yet watching the show, and seeing the glossy viral videos shared online, it’s hard to wonder where real life ends and the fiction begins.

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