Why Wrexham promotion meant more to Ryan Reynolds than Deadpool movie as Paul Mullin explains passion of Rob McElhenney and his fellow Hollywood co-owner

The Hollywood actors have starred in productions such as Deadpool and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but they stepped a long way outside of their comfort zone when completing a takeover at SToK Racecourse in the spring of 2021.

The pair have been on a remarkable journey since then, with Wrexham striker Paul Mullin telling Kammy & Ben’s Proper Football Podcast of what promotion in North Wales represented to two men that are accustomed to operating under the brightest of spotlights: “A lot of people have football club owners as very tough-nosed, hard-skinned people – that’s the business we’re in. But Rob and Ryan care like no other owners I have ever seen. The pictures they show on TV or the documentary, the emotions deliver – they live and breathe it watching us. When we got promoted, there are videos of them crying in the stand. I think it probably did mean an awful lot to them – probably a lot more than making some of the movies or TV shows that they have done.”

Mullin went on to say of Reynolds and McElhenney making a stunning impact at Wrexham on and off the pitch – with the pair now fully absorbed into the local community: “It was because people tell them it can't be done, people tell them it’s going to go wrong. We had it as players, but they get it being the owners – it’s going to go wrong, you’ve signed these players and we’ve seen it all before when teams have spent good money and haven’t been promoted.

"In the end I don’t think they cared about the money, it was the whole journey, the whole trip that they took the town on and made a promise to the people to deliver – they’ve done that. The night we got promoted, they usually do come in the changing room, but that night they ended up on the pitch. We went to a little house party at the far side of the stadium, with all family and friends, and the next minute the two co-owners walk in and it was like nothing – that is how they have come to be perceived now. They are the owners of the football club, but they want to get involved. We had a good time, enjoyed the night and I think for them the next day was all about concentrating on this season and getting good players in. That is at the forefront of their mind every single day.”

Wrexham returned to the Football League in record-breaking style last season – as a 15-year absence from that level of competition was brought to a close – and are currently in the process of piecing together another promotion push, as Phil Parkinson has them sat third in the League Two table.