Hollywood A-lister a chance of heading Down Under with fairytale Welsh football team

His friendship with Hugh Jackman could be the lure to bring Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds to Sydney when Welsh wonder team Wrexham tours down under.

Wrexham have been promoted to the Championship, just one level below the English Premier League. Picture: AP

His friendship with Hugh Jackman could be the lure to bring Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds to Sydney when Welsh wonder team Wrexham tours down under in July.

Wrexham were British battlers playing in the fifth tier of UK football when Reynolds and actor mate Rob McElhenney bought the club to ignite a fairytale that now leaves them just one level below the English Premier League.

The rags-to-riches journey, captured by the wildly successful ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ docuseries on Disney, takes an Australian twist when Wrexham plays Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on July 15.

“It’s like trying to herd cats with Rob and Ryan at times,” Wrexham Board member, Hollywood comic and sitcom writer Humphrey Ker told The Daily Telegraph.

“I wouldn’t discount (Reynolds flying to Sydney) … at the moment I can’t guarantee it ... but if you can put the screws on Hugh Jackman you might get Ryan as well.”

The pair have been friends since 2009 when Reynolds played the character of Deadpool alongside Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. They were back together last year in the box office hit Deadpool and Wolverine.

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in California. Picture: Getty Images

In confirming the three-game Wrexham tour of Australia and New Zealand yesterday, Reynolds and McElhenney joked in a statement: “We are particularly proud that this announcement features neither a Men at Work or Hugh Jackman joke.

“The latter of which took maturity and tremendous restraint. Of course, we make no promises going forward.”

Ker denies writing the line but he holds a unique place in the Wrexham fairytale – the former school friend of Prince William is the man responsible for Reynolds and McElhenney buying the club.

As a writer on the comedy series Mythic Quest, the tragic Liverpool fan would watch game highlights during breaks in filming and his love affair for the game converted McElhenney.

McElhenney roped in Reynolds and the pair gave Ker the job of finding them a club. Based on facilities, fan base and history, Ker settled on Wrexham.

Reynolds and McElhenney acquired the club in February 2021 for $4 million – it is now valued at a whopping $200m – and Ker was appointed executive director.

Ryan Reynolds and Wrexham's Ollie Palmer after the club won promotion to the Championship. Picture: AP

He has since returned to acting and writing in Los Angeles but remains on the Wrexham Board and saw former school mate Prince William at a Red Dragons match last year.

Ker shared a dormitory with the heir to the throne when the pair were boarding at Ludgrove School “between the ages of seven and 10”. They later attended Eton College together.
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Originally published as Hollywood A-lister a chance of heading Down Under with fairytale Welsh football team