Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were more interested in Wrexham transfer news than filming Deadpool 3 and writing Mythical Quest, says Shaun Harvey.
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Takeover completed in 2021Emotional journey taken inFully committed to projectWHAT HAPPENED?
The Hollywood superstars have fully committed to a sporting project in North Wales that they surprisingly bought into back in 2021. Despite being self-confessed novices when it comes to the British form of football, they have invested financially and emotionally into the Red Dragons.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALWHAT HARVEY SAID ABOUT REYNOLDS & MCELHENNEY
Both men have commitments a long way outside of SToK Racecourse, but Wrexham are never far from their thoughts and club director Harvey has said in of why there is no sense of showmanship with Reynolds and McElhenney away from the big screen:”What you see is authentic, 100 per cent. There is no doubt. I genuinely believe what is going on at the football club has gone from being 'this is interesting' to – like every other football fan – dominating the majority of their free and relaxing time. We have had Ryan filming Deadpool 3 and Rob in the middle of writing and filming Mythical Quest, and you can guarantee that the information they wanted is what is happening in the transfer window and are we getting nearer signing somebody! There's no better evidence of them being real fans of the club than that type of approach. Their love for the club is there for everybody to see and anybody that wants to question whether it is a convenient approach for the benefit of a documentary series are so wide of the mark that they don't actually understand what is happening here in north Wales.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Reynolds and McElhenney have opened a window to the world for the Red Dragons, with the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series making household names of Paul Mullin, Elliot Lee and Co in the United States. Harvey added on the surge in interest: “Wrexham is unique as a football club. There's a disproportionate amount of interest in the club to our league status. A big part of that is due to the documentary and the role that Rob and Ryan so actively play in the life of this North Wales city. It has just brought a completely new brand and approach to ownership. The community first model is actually not that far away from a supporters trust, apart from you've got two individuals who are utilising significant amounts of their own capital – financial and time – to help the club that they previously had no knowledge of but now have an absolute passion and love for to succeed. A celebrity owner to increase profile is fine but it's actually what do those celebrity owners do to contribute to the life of the club. I think anybody would struggle to be able to demonstrate and prove the same level of involvement as Rob and Ryan do.”
Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT?
Celebrity investors and owners are becoming increasingly common – with NFL legends Tom Brady and JJ Watt among the others that are involved in British football – but few have made an impact to rival that of Reynolds and McElhenney.