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Ryan Reynolds scores with Wrexham soccer gambit

Soccer and celebrity: How Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney helped turn a tiny Welsh football club into a global sensation.
Man cheering
Canadian actor and Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds acknowledges the fans after the English FA Cup fourth round football match between Wrexham and Sheffield United at the Racecourse Ground Stadium in Wrexham, north Wales, on January 29, 2023. (Oli SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Two years ago, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the creator and star of the show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, bought Wrexham AFC. The small Welsh soccer team had been languishing in the lowest possible division of football in the U.K. This week, the team celebrated a triumphant victory that earned it promotion out of the game's backwater.

On this episode, Richard Sutcliffe, a writer for The Athletic covering Wrexham AFC, discusses how the Hollywood touch has helped turn the relatively obscure team into a global sensation.

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