'Gary Neville & Ryan Reynolds need to watch out!' - Brian McFadden reveals Premier League title dream at Chorley as Boyzone & Westlife stars aim to eclipse Wrexham & Salford after investing in sixth-tier club

Celebrity investment in clubs that sit some way down the English Football League pyramid is becoming a regular occurrence, with Manchester United’s fabled ‘Class of ‘92’ starting that trend at Salford – with Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham overseeing a meteoric rise into the EFL ranks.

Hollywood superstars Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are now making plenty of headlines at Wrexham, courtesy of back-to-back promotions and an award-winning documentary series, while the likes of Tom Brady, Will Ferrell and JJ Watt are now involved in British football. There is also talk of A$AP Rocky, the rap star partner of music icon Rihanna, forming part of a bid to take control at Tranmere.

Non-league Chorley, who operate in the sixth tier of English football, already have famous investors in place after seeing Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy from Boyzone, alongside Brian McFadden of Westlife fame, buy into their ambitious project.

The Lancashire-based outfit - who average attendances of around 1,400 – are dreaming big and may soon follow Salford and Wrexham into the world of documentaries. McFadden has told The Sun: “We have aspirations, just like Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds. I wake up some nights thinking, ‘We’re going to win the Premier League in the next 30 years’. You have to dream big, and we’ve got to aim for the top. Teams like Salford and Wrexham, who have well-known owners, make us think, ‘Why not us?’. Gary Neville and Ryan Reynolds may need to watch out!”

Much like the project at Wrexham, pop star investors at Chorley are eager to ensure that they do things the right way. Duffy added: “We’re from a working-class background in the north side of Dublin and it’s all about family. It’s all about community — and coming here, it’s like being home. Hopefully we’re going to be the new adopted sons.

“Chorley Football Club belongs to the people of Chorley. They’ve got this amazing community support. It’s their club and I think there was a worry that we might come in and try to make it a bit Hollywood and throw money at it. After speaking to everyone, we said we couldn’t do that. We had to let this club grow naturally.”

Lynch went on to say: “We’re on a ten-year project and we are coming into year two. We’ve got lots of ideas for the ground, for the game and to grow Chorley as a town. What we are doing is very much community based.”

Chorley are currently flying high in the National League North - as they sit second in the table, level on points with leaders Scunthorpe through 15 games. They are two promotions away from the Football League, but believe anything is possible with the right leadership and funding – as Wrexham have shown.