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Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds builds sporting empire amid links to new Welsh team

Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds has diversified his sporting portfolio
-Credit:Paul Greenwood/REX/Shutterstock


Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds has a broad range of business interests outside of his busy acting career.

From drinks companies like Aviation Gin and Wrexham Lager to telecoms firm Mint Mobile, the Deadpool star has his finger in many pies.

Reynolds entered the sporting world by buying League One Wrexham with fellow actor and 'It's Always Sunny' creator Rob McElhenney in February 2021.

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The Hollywood A-lister has since expanded his empire by investing in other sports teams after the Red Dragons achieved consecutive promotions under the pair's leadership.

Here WalesOnline reveals which teams Reynolds is already involved with, as well as those he has been linked to, including a Welsh cricket side.

Wrexham

Starting with the most obvious, Wrexham fans were left stunned when news of Reynolds and McElhenney's interest in buying their club broke in September 2020.

The then-supporter-owned club was languishing in the National League and had just narrowly avoided being relegated during the previous season as fans were shut out of the Racecourse due to Covid.

The Hollywood duo's purchase was officially confirmed in February 2021 and resulted in the immediate investment of £2m into the club.

Wrexham have since gone on to achieve huge success under manager Phil Parkinson and now play in League One.

The city itself has also benefited from the global spotlight attracted by the Welcome to Wrexham documentary after being visited by a whole host of celebrities such as Will Ferrell and Channing Tatum.

Club Necaxa
Eva Longoria at Wrexham's game
Eva Longoria at Wrexham's game

Buoyed by their success at Wrexham, Reynolds and McElhenney became part-owners of Mexican football team Club Necaxa in April this year.

A five per cent stake in the north Wales side was also sold to the Liga MX team's ownership as part of a reciprocal deal.

The arrangement saw them join with high-profile members of the Tylis-Porter investment group, including actress Eva Longoria, model Kate Upton and NFL player Odell Beckham Jr.

Desperate Housewives star Longoria later made an appearance at Wrexham's opening game of the season against Wycombe in August.

Alpine F1 Team

Wrexham's joint owners diversified their investments beyond football in June 2023 by getting involved with a Formula 1 team.

Reynolds and McElhenney are part of an investor group which holds a 24 per cent equity stake in Alpine.

The deal was reportedly worth €200m (£171m), valuing the British-based team at around £700m following the move.

Alpine endured a difficult season in 2024 at times, with poor performances, internal rows, key staff leaving and mechanical glitches causing problems.

However, a late season flourish saw the team finish sixth in the F1 Constructors' Championship.

According to the Express, investors such as Reynolds and McElhenney were due a significant pay-out as a result, with the prize money for the same position standing at £75m for the previous year.

La Equidad

Recent reports suggest Reynolds is part of an investment group planning to buy into top tier Colombian football club La Equidad.

The deal is again said to involve members of the Tylis-Porter group, who bought a stake in Necaxa.

Whether McElhenney is involved is not clear, but the pair rarely get involved in sporting businesses without one another.

The Bogota-based side, which was founded in 1982, is believed to be valued at $16 million (£12.6m).

Current club president Carlos Zuluaga is expected to remain in place, with the deal due to be announced in January.

Welsh Fire
Reynolds has been linked with a move for The Hundred franchise team Welsh Fire
Reynolds has been linked with a move for The Hundred franchise team Welsh Fire -Credit:2022 Christopher Lee


In July this year, news emerged that Wrexham's owners were in talks over a shock move to buy into the Welsh Fire cricket team.

Reynolds and McElhenney are said to have held discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the prospect of buying a large share in the Cardiff-based Hundred side.

It comes as the ECB attempt to sell a 49 per cent stake of each of the eight Hundred teams to private investors.

Owners of US sports franchises and Indian Premier League sides have been targeted, with the cost of owning half of Welsh Fire thought to stand at around £20m.

Talk has gone quiet on this one at the time of writing but watch this space.

Ottawa Senators

One deal which Reynolds reportedly missed out on was his bid to buy the Ottawa Senators hockey team.

Word of his interest in the NHL outfit based in his home country of Canada first emerged in late-2022.

Reynolds was initially said to be preparing a bid worth more than $1billion (£795m) for the Senators.

However, he later pulled out after negotiations over a possible takeover stalled.

The club ultimately agreed a deal with Toronto businessman Michael Andlauer over the sale of the club.