Ryan Reynolds Loses ‘Brain of Wrexham’ Tag to Rob McElhenney, Ben Foster Explains Why- “Don’t Get Me Wrong”

A few years back, the Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC was in oblivion. In 2023, Wrexham became a fan favorite. Wrexham’s friendlies against English Premier League giants at Chapel Hill and Los Angeles were instant sell-outs. The club put itself back in the limelight after achieving promotion to EFL League Two in 2023, ending a 15-year exile. Since when did Wrexham start this northward journey? It began when Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over the reins of the club in 2020 as new owners. While both these actors strive for Wrexham’s success, it is McElhenney who regards Wrexham as ‘his baby‘, says the club’s former goalie Ben Foster.

Ben Foster was at the epicenter of Wrexham’s historic win against Boreham Wood, which confirmed their promotion. Foster has now revealed that Reynolds is a bit ‘relaxed‘ as an owner, unlike the club’s co-owner.

Foster highlights the major difference between Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

Ben Foster retired from soccer last August, despite extending his contract in June. However, he stays in touch with Ryan Reynolds to this day. In a recent interview with talkSPORT, the veteran goalie was asked to explain how the two Wrexham owners differed from each other. “Rob is the brains behind it. Rob is fully in. Don’t get me wrong they’re both fully in but Rob, you can tell this is his baby, genuinely it’s his baby, Wrexham is,” said Ben Foster. The English goalie then said that Reynolds has always had a relaxed and cool approach.

“Ryan, I think at first he joined along for the ride and was like, ‘Yeah I’ll help you out.’ He’s a bit more the kind of relaxed one, whereas Rob is, ‘No, we want to do something here,'” Foster added. The veteran goalkeeper did not stop there. He had further surprises for the Wrexham faithful. He briefly shed light on the Rob and Ryan partnership’s origin story.

Foster’s surprising revelation about Rob and Ryan’s friendship

In the same interview, Foster was quizzed if the acting icons were best friends outside of the Welsh club. He surprisingly replied, the two never even met before. As the story goes, it was Wrexham that brought together the Deadpool star and the Always Sunny in Philadelphia star. They interacted for the first time on an online call to discuss the idea of buying the Welsh club.

READ MORE: “Waiting for This Moment for 16 Years”- Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney React as ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Wins Big at Emmy Awards 2023

It is no surprise Ben Foster said Wrexham was McElhenney’s baby. It truly is. He was the one who initially had the idea to take over Wrexham. He needed to pair ‘Hollywood money’ with his ‘TV Money’ to pursue sports franchise ownership. And that was when he pitched the Wrexham project to Reynolds. What happened after that is history. An iconic friendship blossomed and the Red Dragons’ redemption followed.

READ MORE: How Many Emmy Awards & In Which Categories Did Ryan Reynolds’ Welcome to Wrexham Win? All Nominations Revealed