The manager of Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenney's Welsh soccer team says working with the Hollywood stars has been a 'whirlwind'

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The manager of Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenney's Welsh soccer team says working with the Hollywood stars has been a 'whirlwind'
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took over Wrexham in November 2020.Getty/Peter Byrne.
  • Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has enjoyed working with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
  • The Hollywood duo completed a $2.5 million takeover of the Welsh soccer club last year.
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Wrexham AFC manager Phil Parkinson says working with Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has been a "whirlwind" ahead of the team's first cup final in almost a decade.

Reynolds and McElhenney completed a surprise $2.5 million takeover of the Welsh soccer team in February last year.

Since, the club has managed to qualify for the National League playoffs, putting itself on a brink of a sensational return to the English Football League, which it fell out of in 2008.

Parkinson's side has also managed to reach the final of the FA Trophy, where it faces Bromley FC at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, for the first time in nine years.

"I've enjoyed every minute of it," Parkinson, who took over as manager at the start of the season, told Insider. "It's been exciting, it's been like a whirlwind here since the day I came in."

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Parkinson said that when he took charge, the club had no medical department or physiotherapist, while he also had only a "threadbare squad" to work with — all of which has changed under the tenure of Reynolds and McElhenney.

In January, Wrexham completed four transfers, including the club record signing of striker Ollie Palmer from AFC Wimbledon. The Englishman has since scored 15 goals in 21 games for the Dragons.

"So many things have had to be put in place," added Parkinson. "But I've got to be honest, I've really enjoyed the challenge and relished every single day of coming to work."

The manager of Ryan Reynolds' and Rob McElhenney's Welsh soccer team says working with the Hollywood stars has been a 'whirlwind'
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson.Getty/Morgan Harlow

Last summer, just after Reynolds' and McElhenney's takeover, Parkinson oversaw a complete overhaul of the squad he inherited from previous Wrexham boss Dean Keates, signing 11 players, six of which were free transfers.

Defender Ben Tozer was among those to join the club, signing from Cheltenham Town for an undisclosed fee.

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The 32-year-old told Insider that the high profile takeover been "incredibly exciting."

"There's been a massive buzz around the club," he said. "There's been so much excitement around the place. When the owners came over for the first time, it was a little bit of a circus, but it's just become a bit more normal since then.

"It's great. You know, I'm not really mad on publicity and stuff like that, but it's nice for the club to have a lot more coverage."

Asked if he has had any personal interactions with Reynolds or McElhenney, Tozer said: "Yeah, it's been great. It's just been normal. Whenever they come over, you chat to them as normal and try and have a normal conversation, but there's often cameras there, so.

"We also get the odd message from them here and there as well, which is nice. It's one of them where you don't want to be a fan boy messaging them and whatever, you just want to keep it normal. That's the best way."

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