Tom Brady saluted for bringing 'the razzmatazz' to English soccer alongside Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney as ‘only concern’ over famous investors at Birmingham City & Wrexham is raised

NFL legend Brady became a minority investor at St Andrew’s in August 2023, with an advisory role being taken up in the West Midlands. He has attended the odd game since then, with David Beckham joining him in the stands for a so-called ‘Hollywood Derby’ date with Wrexham in September 2024.

Brady is a proven winner, with seven Super Bowl rings to his name, but questions have been asked of what he brings to the party at Birmingham. When Emile Heskey was asked for his take on that debate, the former Blues striker – speaking in association with William Hill – told GOAL: “It’s exposure, know-how business-wise when it comes to owning clubs. It’s American football and a completely different thing, but they know the razzmatazz.

“The stuff they are talking about bringing to Birmingham – the stadium, entertainment and making it a hub for the Midlands – I think that has been needed for a long time. Being from the Midlands, it’s something that has been needed. Everything goes down to London and you’re like ‘give us something here’. Or it goes to Manchester, so give us something in the Midlands. Having that hub where you can say there is a top quality stadium, top quality place to have concerts etc, that’s the main thing. It’s not just about the football, it’s about everything else that they bring as well.”

Heskey added on the rivalry that has been struck up between Birmingham and Wrexham, with Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney calling the shots in North Wales: “It’s really nice to see. When you think about it, no-one would have thought that Wrexham would have been in that at all. Now they are looking to have another kick on and go again. It’s nice. You like to see these things where it’s not just the top clubs that can have that razzmatazz and have all the news about them.”

There have been plenty of rumours to suggest that more celebrity funding could be pumped into British football, with Heskey saying of that trend – which is expected to steer clear of the Premier League billionaire’s playground: “I think it’s going to be more with the League One and League Two clubs. It’s going to be more with the smaller teams and see where they can get them. When you look at the attention that Wrexham get, there is going to be more and more of it.

“They are going to be looking at smaller clubs. ASAP Rocky has been connected to a team [Tranmere]. You are going to get more and more because they look at it as a business venture and with the connections that they have, they can really have a go at getting into the Premier League – or just climbing those divisions and having fun!”

Heskey hopes that element of “fun” can be retained, by ownership groups and loyal fan bases, with the ex-England international saying when asked if there is any threat of famous faces getting bored and disappearing as quickly as they arrived: “That is the only concern. What is the long-term future of these clubs and are they there to stay? That’s the only problem you have. But you never know. You are probably better off just enjoying that ride as it goes along.”

Birmingham had little to cheer during Brady’s debut campaign as part of their board, with a failed experiment with Wayne Rooney contributing to relegation into League One being suffered, but the Blues are now flying high in League One alongside Wrexham as both clubs set their sights on automatic promotion.