Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have purchased a British soccer team. Reynolds has been seemingly everywhere since becoming a household name thanks to his hilarious performance in Deadpool a few years ago. Selling wireless plans as the spokesman of Mint Mobile, sharing his COVID set experiences on Twitter, and just recently wrapping on his latest film, Red Notice, the actor has been keeping busy during the pandemic. McElhenney is best known for playing the half-wit Ronald "Mac" McDonald on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which he also created and frequently writes for.
Aside from his professional work, Reynolds has busied himself with charitable and socially conscious efforts. The actor called a truce on his humorous beef with fellow X-Men star Hugh Jackman as part of an effort to raise money for charity. Sam's Club shoppers will choose which of the two to support when they donate to charities that help hospitalized children and coffee farmers. Additionally, Reynolds has taken it upon himself to do his part to diversify the industry, creating a mentorship program called the Group Effort Initiative to give a leg up to a select few BIPOC filmmakers who will join him on set.
Now, in a video posted to Wrexham AFC's Twitter, it seems Reynolds and McElhenney have bought a little something for themselves – an entire soccer team. In a strange announcement (though nothing out of the ordinary for the two comedians), the minute long video is almost entirely an advertisement for British trailer manufacturer Ifor Williams, which Reynolds has a lot of fun saying out loud. After insisting that everyone consider buying their loved ones trailers for Christmas, Reynolds and McElhenney explain that Ifor Williams is the team sponsor of Wrexham AFC, which they now own, and will be speaking about a lot more. Check out the video below:
Based in Wrexham, Wales, Wrexham AFC is the oldest football club in Wales and the third oldest in the world. Wrexham competes in the National League within the English football league system, placing it in the fifth tier. The highest tier is of course the Premier League, famous the world over. Wrexham does have the distinction of being the most successful team in the Welsh League, having won the Welsh Cup 23 times. Soccer, as people call it in America, has never been the most popular sport stateside. Major League Soccer is on a slow but steady climb alongside viewership of foreign leagues such as the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga. What Americans love unequivocally, however, are movie stars. Perhaps Reynolds and McElhenney can help to really popularize the sport in the US.
In the meantime, until that day comes when soccer is beloved in the US, Reynolds and McElhenney will be keeping busy. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia remains a pop culture icon, and McElhenney has surely got many laughs left to deliver as Mac. Reynolds' upcoming video game comedy Free Guy was recently pulled from Disney's release schedule. Hopefully, these two and the rest of the industry will be able to bounce back and adapt as the pandemic shows signs of entering a second hard-hitting phase this winter.
Source: Wrexham AFC