Ryan Reynolds has denied that talks have taken place over Wrexham and Birmingham City's League One clash next season taking place in the U.S.
Mirror Football reported this week that the two clubs, owned by Americans, discussed the idea of their games being played across the Pond to take advantage of ‘increased commercial opportunities' - but the EFL vetoed the idea. A match being moved away from the UK would have gone against the guiding principles laid out by Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney when they bought the Red Dragons in 2020.
"Goes against every single one of the 'guiding principles' you stated publicly before even buying the club. Let’s not start getting too greedy and breaking promises @VancityReynolds @RMcElhenney," a fan pressed Reynolds on X.
The Wrexham co-owner took to social media and denied that any talks had taken place. Reynolds replied: "I agree. And that’s why there have been no talks."
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Neil Cotterell, chair of Birmingham City’s supporters’ trust, also pushed back. "I think of much more interest to supporters could be a pre-season friendly in the U.S. which could still have commercial benefits," Cotterell confirmed to Mirror Football.
The two teams find themselves in the same division, pitting NFL legend Tom Brady's Birmingham against actors Reynolds and McElhenney's Wrexham following different fortunes for both clubs last season. The Blues were relegated from the Championship last season in Brady's first year of ownership, which saw a number of managerial changes, including the hiring and firing of Manchester United and England legend, Wayne Rooney.
Whereas Wrexham confirmed a second consecutive promotion, finishing second in League Two before Stockport. The Welsh club has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the English football divisions and Wrexham's global stock has never been higher. 'Welcome to Wrexham', a fly-on-the-wall docuseries following the Hollywood owners and the club is hugely popular on Disney+.
Renovations are also taking place at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground. The club are building a new stand. For the time being, Wrexham has announced the extension of the temporary stand, which will accommodate approximately 3,000 seats while the Kop Development begins. "The Club has agreements in principle to purchase the land required for the Kop development's footprint," Wrexham continued.
One of the driving factors behind the stadium redevelopment was due to local fans complaining that they couldn't get matchday tickets. The two owners were told that a temporary stand wasn't a good financial decision - but they've pressed ahead anyway.
"That’s the biggest complaint that I’ve been seeing is people on the town saying we can't get in to see the games because of the tickets,” McElhenney said of Wrexham fans. “Us losing a lot of money seems to be kind of the whole thing.”