The NSFW Warning Ryan Reynolds Received Before Buying Wrexham A.F.C.

Ryan Reynolds was told he risked being called horrible names in front of his family if he went through with buying a Welsh soccer club.

Wrexham A.F.C.'s executive director and one of the stars of the new documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, Humphrey Ker, told Newsweek how he gave Reynolds the stark warning as he embarked on the venture with Rob McElhenney.

Deadpool actor Reynolds and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator McElhenney made headlines in 2020 when they purchased Wrexham, the third-oldest professional soccer team in the world, according to the club. The new docuseries showcases the story of their takeover so far, with the first two episodes launching on Wednesday August 24 on FX before streaming on Hulu the next day.

Why Wrexham?

Before becoming part of the Wrexham venture, Ker worked as a comedian, occasional actor and a writer on McElhenney's Apple TV+ show Mythic Quest.

McElhenney's route to buying a soccer ("football") club has been well-documented. After falling in love with the community seen in the Netflix docu-series Sunderland 'Til I Die, about Sunderland A.F.C., he decided he wanted to own a club and eventually asked Reynolds, whom he'd never met before, if he'd like to join him in the venture.

McElhenney included Ker from the beginning as they drew up a list of eight British-based soccer clubs that they might be able to buy, with the intention of growing and progressing through the football pyramid.

"He asked me, 'What team should we get?' That was my first big contribution, to come up with a list of teams in terms of quality and areas of appeal, and work out which one was the best. So I made a kind of matrix effectively, with about eight clubs on it," Ker told Newsweek.

He recalled from memory that the teams listed were other clubs of a similar size and position to Wrexham. They included: Aldershot Town, Carlisle United, Macclesfield Town, Bury and Hartlepool United. Pivoting from all of these English clubs, RR McReynolds Company LLC instead decided to bid for the Welsh club, Wrexham, in what Ker states was a "pretty easy decision" in the end.

Words of warning

Ker is a Liverpool F.C. fan originally and was well aware of the perils of being a soccer club owner and the backlash they often receive. American owners the Glazer family are often lambasted for their running of Manchester United although the Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool) are comparatively well-thought of by fans.

As he was inducting both McElhenney and Reynolds into the world of British soccer, he didn't sugarcoat the potential abuse that may come their way.

"I remember when I first spoke to Ryan, I met him on a Zoom for the first time and said, 'Look, inevitably, the nature of football fans is that at some stage, even if we're doing really well, we might draw three games in a row, someone will call you a c*** in front of your children at the airport or something, because they'll be disappointed by a result," Ker said. "That's just the way it goes."

While both Reynolds and McElhenney knew disgruntled by soccer fans could pose a risk to their reputations, the business partners and actors have both enjoyed their time as co-owners of Wrexham so far. They have regularly posted images on social media of themselves attending games in Wales, along with their famous wives Blake Lively and Kaitlin Olson.

"So they've come into it without, I think, any illusions that there would be people being negative and unpleasant." Ker continued, "I wouldn't say it's all been peaches and cream so far. There have been plenty of people sending me messages wanting me to fire the manager because we've drawn or lost a game. Ultimately, that is just sort of part of the equation."

Filming Welcome to Wrexham

While the inception of the idea to buy Wrexham was inspired by Sunderland 'Til I Die, Ker assures fans that the purpose of the purchase is to benefit the club, not just to make a documentary.

"It wasn't about the documentary. Rob recognized from the jump that the doc would be an incredible asset because, well he had never heard of Sunderland before and he fell in love with that team and town, and if you're able to do that for your club, well that's an incredible boom."

Ker continued: "The documentary is in service to the club, rather than the other way around. At some stage, the documentary will go away, but the club will remain."

Despite its modest size, Wrexham has gained in stature within pop culture. Their new jersey sponsor is TiKTok, they're now a playable team on the video game FIFA, and they were even name-checked in an episode of Ted Lasso. On top of that, the club has improved its performances on the pitch, coming agonizingly close to promotion from the National League into League Two last season.

While there's a lot to shout about already, Ker is looking forward to potentially covering upcoming accomplishments in future seasons of Welcome to Wrexham.

"I hope that we get two more series of the documentary, and it covers the opening of the new Kop stand that we're building, which I'm really excited about."

In June, Wrexham announced plans to redevelop their historic Kop Stand to provide it with a seating capacity of 5,500 with a hospitality lounge, office and retail store. Ker posted a picture on his social media channels of himself and part of the Kop Development.

The first season of Welcome to Wrexham starts with two episodes airing on Wednesday August 24. Subsequent Wednesdays will see additional episodes air each night, comprising the entire 18-episode season.

Ker confirmed that Welcome to Wrexham was initially developed for a two-season deal, meaning there will definitely be one more season after the current one.

Looking past two seasons, Ker says it's up to viewers whether there'll be more.

"We'll learn in the not too distant future whether people embrace this season of the documentary. But I'm hopeful."

FX's Welcome to Wrexham premieres with two episodes on Wednesday, August 24 on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT, streaming the next day on Hulu.

Update: 8/24/22 11:15 a.m. ET : This story was updated to state that Season 1 of Welcome to Wrexham is comprised of 18 episodes.