Being an owner of a soccer club isn’t as easy as it seems. Consider Wrexham AFC, a team being driven by two remarkable Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Beyond the glory, fun, and world of perks, who knew that with peaks, there would also be valleys—not related to success, but to the ‘legitimately emotionally painful’ goodbyes that owners must bid to the players who leave the club?

Owning a club is no less than a journey of a lifetime. In a mere four years as owners of the Wesh club, both Rob and Ryan have managed to find a way to navigate against all kinds of problems. However, there’s one rather ‘personal‘ challenge that even McElhenney can’t seem to handle. “One thing that I was not prepared for was how difficult it was to say goodbye to players,” remarked the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star while speaking on Men in Blazer’s podcast. So who was this player that McElhenney found difficult to break up with?

“Luke Young is my favorite player. I was very public in stating that and that’s not a slight to the other players, I just loved Luke. I love he was our longest-tenure player. He was with us from the very beginning. So to say goodbye to him was devastating,” added the American actor, revealing that he was also close with Young’s wife Khloe and their kids. Even though the ex-skipper joined Cheltenham Town, Rob is still in contact with the midfielder and his family.

In fact, McElhenney still has ties with other players who left the club, like Ben Tozer or Ben Foster. “I check in with a lot of the players that have left because it’s legitimately emotionally painful to say goodbye to them. I think I’ve learned for as fun as the experience of being the chairman of this club is, it can also be really hard to say goodbye,” concluded, McElhenney, sharing the dark side of being a soccer club owner.

Picture this. When Lionel Messi left Barcelona after a career that spanned more than two decades, not just the fans but almost everyone including Joan Laporta and Co.’s Camp Nou shed tears. We can understand the pain that McElhenney and vice versa the players must have felt while being forced to part ways.

Regardless, it’s good that both the actors try to learn from all the peaks and valleys. No wonder they have already set their sights on winning League One.

Wrexham already proving prognosticators wrong with emphatic League One start

With Wrexham still unbeaten in League One, Rob McElhenney expressed confidence, stating that the players pay no attention to what critics, analysts, or even their own families say about the team. Instead, the players are convinced that they “can win the league.” After proving themselves over the past two seasons, the Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor emphasized that his goal as Wrexham’s owner is to win every match, and he’s grateful the players share that mindset.

“It’s really funny to to listen to all the prognosticators and Vegas all the oddsmakers and all the sports talk people who really had us about mid-table,” McElhenney continued, celebrating Wrexham’s top-seeded run. Rob McElhenney said that Wrexham fans would jump with joy if the club survived enough to make the playoff in the League. Regardless, they shouldn’t get their hopes high as it’s just the beginning of yet another journey.