Are Ryan Reynolds & Rob Mac at Wrexham the ‘best owners in football’? Former Wales international explains why Hollywood stars may boast that tag

That support has allowed Wrexham to thrive on and off the field. There is the promise of more to come, with work well underway on a new Kop stand at the Racecourse Ground. More supporters will soon be welcomed through the doors, with collective sights locked on reaching the Premier League.

The award-winning ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series continues to build a global fan base, with a window to the world being flung open. Success on the pitch has helped to keep interest high, with Phil Parkinson doing a remarkable job over the course of a 267-game tenure.

He has been backed every step of the way by Reynolds and Mac, with transfer records being broken in each passing window. It is already being suggested that Wrexham could spend £50 million-plus ($66m) on a player if they were to reach the top-flight.

They will - while boasting full support from their wives Blake Lively and Kaitlin Olson - continue to pump funds into Wrexham as a team and city. Few clubs across the planet can claim to have such supportive chairmen calling the shots.

Quizzed on whether they are the pick of that bunch, Chester - speaking to Fruity King - said: “Are Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney the best owners in football? It's a difficult one. I think there's been lots of really good owners throughout football but I think for what they've done for Wrexham as a club, and the town as well, it was always a football club with a lot of history, long before the owners came in, but to see where the club had fallen to and how they turned that around has been really impressive.

“Then you have the attention that they’ve brought on the club from further afield and what that’s done for the people of Wrexham and the fans locally. I think just looking at it from an outside perspective, I think they see how important that relationship is with the local people and the fans who have always been there rather than solely focusing on the success that they've had with newer fans around the globe. I think it probably points to the kind of people and characters that they are.”

Reynolds and Mac have benefited from plenty of shrewd recruitment - as they bring in proven performers on the field and behind the scenes - but Chester was never able to land himself a move to the Racecourse.

That is not for a lack of trying, with the 37-year-old defender - who retired in February 2025 - adding: “I think I tried my best to get signed by Wrexham for about three years! Where I currently live is only about 45 minutes from Wrexham. When I left Derby [in 2023] I had not particularly played much football so I was training at Barrow at the time because they had a training base in the North West and my friend knew the manager so I was in there training.

“We just so happened to play against Wrexham’s under-21s in a friendly behind closed doors. I think Phil Parkinson has the game relayed back to him and someone had mentioned that I’d played. David Jones, who's the first team coach at Wrexham, we’d been at United together. He's a little bit older than me and he got in contact just to see what my situation was and would it be of interest.

“I don't think there's a much more exciting football club to be involved with in world football at the moment than Wrexham with the ownership that they have and it was something that I was really hoping would happen. At the time I think they were focusing on other positions as a priority and it never quite happened.”

Two busy transfer windows in the 2025-26 campaign have allowed Wrexham to force their way into another promotion picture. They sit seventh in the Championship table at present, with only goal difference keeping them out of the play-off spots.

Parkinson’s side have seven games remaining this season, as they seek to earn tickets to the Premier League-chasing lottery, and will be back in action on Friday when taking in a trip to relegation-threatened West Brom.