Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Tom Brady hailed for reawakening 'sleeping giants' Wrexham and Birmingham as ex-Blues star claims more celebrity owners are ‘welcome’ in lower leagues

Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney stunned the EFL community in 2021 when completing a remarkable takeover in North Wales. A flurry of A-list investors have arrived in British football since then, with NFL legend Brady forming part of that club.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner is now on the board at St Andrew’s, as Birmingham compete with Wrexham for automatic promotion into the Championship. Big money has been spent while chasing the dream, while award-winning documentary series have opened up a window to the world.

Former Birmingham midfielder Anders Limpar, speaking to GOAL in association with Oddspedia, has said of why celebrity owners are good for the British game: "All the money coming in from big investors is good for European football. It’s not just for the mega rich Premier League clubs or Serie A or Bundesliga. If they can picture sleeping giants, to invest in clubs like that, it’s welcome. That is really good. You look at Como, with [Cesc] Fabregas, and Wrexham. We need more clubs like that."

Birmingham suffered relegation during Brady’s first season with ties to the club, but are looking to bounce straight back. Ex-Sweden international Limpar added when asked if there is crossover knowledge that an American football great brings to soccer circles: "Fitness-wise, for sure. They have the best fitness coaches in the world, the best machines, the best knowledge of how to be an athlete. In that sense, yes. When it comes to football in general, or soccer in general, the biggest coaches in the world are in Europe at the moment. They have the quality, the best names, when it comes to management. I think they can do it, but not at the highest level that we have in Europe. We have some unbelievable managers."

Birmingham have had their fingers burned in the managerial department, after taking a punt on ex-Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney, but Wrexham are reaping the rewards of having EFL specialist Phil Parkinson at their helm – with a history-making third-successive promotion being chased down.