‘Does that mean they have to go off the pitch?’ - Wrexham star Paul Mullin reveals the embarrassing question Ryan Reynolds asked while watching his first home game with co-owner Rob McElhenney

The Deadpool actor, along with fellow co-owner Rob McElhenney, was far from being a footballing aficionado when completing a stunning takeover of the Welsh club. As a result, it took him a while to get on board with the rules – with yellow cards leaving him confused on a visit to SToK Racecourse back in October 2021 that saw him take up a seat in the stands alongside star striker Mullin, who was nursing an injury at the time.

Mullin had to field some interesting questions from those in his company, with the Red Dragons frontman saying in his new autobiography ‘My Wrexham Story’ of co-chairmen that are now very much up to speed: “At that first meeting on the pitch they told me that they wanted me to watch the Torquay game alongside them. Sitting up on that little balcony in the stand was the first time I’d spent any real time with them, which was quite cool to be fair. Funny too. When the referee produced a yellow card, Ryan asked me, ‘Does that mean they have to go off the pitch?’ But remember, that was only the second time he’d seen live football. In fact, when you look at those early episodes of the documentary there are plenty of times when Rob and Ryan were more than happy to show they were far from expert when it came to this sport they’d so heavily invested in. I’m not sure everyone would do that. Maybe some people would be a bit precious about that sort of thing. Not Rob and Ryan. They’re real, and they wanted everyone to see that. Now, two years on, they are the experts. They can tell me details about our games that I didn’t even know myself, statistics I never even knew existed. They’re not passive. They really do take it all in. They totally get football and absolutely love it.”

Reynolds and McElhenney bought as much into the community aspect of Wrexham as they did the sporting adventure and have made a notable impact on and off the pitch in North Wales. Their first full season at the helm delivered Wembley heartache in the FA Trophy final and play-off pain at the end of a gruelling 2021-22 campaign.

Wrexham got things right last season, as they were promoted back into the Football League in record-breaking style, with Reynolds and McElhenney funding an all-expenses-paid-trip to Las Vegas for Phil Parkinson’s triumphant squad. The hope is that another party will be enjoyed in 2024, with the Red Dragons currently flying high in League Two.