Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Wrexham one step closer to Premier League

When Ryan Reynolds floated the idea of buying British football club Wrexham to fellow Hollywood A-lister Rob McElhenney, he says it felt like an "impossible dream".

Reynolds had an idea for a documentary and the ultimate goal was reaching the Premier League.

Four years after Reynolds and McElhenney purchased the north Wales outfit, Wrexham is one league away from achieving its lofty goal following a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic, which saw the club promoted for a record third consecutive time.

The Wrexham players show off the silverware after defeating Charlton Athletic. (Getty Images: Kya Banasko)

"It just seemed like an impossible dream," Reynolds told Sky Sports after the match.

"And when you're a storyteller, you look as much as you can at the sort of macro view of this history.

"We were standing there doing a press conference four years ago, and said our goal is to make it to the Premier League.

"There was understandably a lot of titters and laughter and giggles, but it starts to feel like a real, tangible thing that could actually come to fruition in this moment."

The Red Dragons will play in the second-tier Championship next season, a feat that seemed unthinkable four years ago when Wrexham was a non-league team going nowhere.

Asked about being just one league below England's vaunted top-flight, McElhenney laughed and said: "That's for tomorrow to think about. Today is just enjoying the moment."

Reynolds replied: "We have to wait 'til tomorrow? I'll erase the whiteboard I put up at half-time."

Wrexham's popularity has skyrocketed on both sides of the Atlantic due to the North American owners and the Welcome to Wrexham documentary.

While many sports teams have celebrity absentee owners, Reynolds and McElhenney are anything but absent.

Reynolds and McElhenney enjoyed the moment with Wrexham supporters. (Getty Images/AMA: Robbie Jay Barratt)

Reynolds, whose wife and fellow actor Blake Lively was also at Saturday's match, told reporters this week in New York the stress was "like an eight-inch ulcer in my stomach".

McElhenney had delivered a pre-match speech to the players before their key 2-1 victory over Blackpool last Monday and then spent this past week in Wales with the club.

The Racecourse Ground crowd showed their appreciation in the dying minutes of Saturday's thriller, turning to applaud the two, who were both down on the celebratory pitch soon after the final whistle, wrapping players in giant hugs.

"Ryan and I have the easiest job in the world, which is to show up and watch this incredible football team and this incredible story continue to unfold," said McElhenney, an American best known for his role in the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Reynolds added: "And if you want to see what it means to them, you go into that dressing room after a loss and there's nothing that can console them.

"That's where you see the grit and the metal that these players have. It means everything to them."

Reuters

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