Ryan Reynolds Hoping to ‘Make a Lot of Money’ When He Sells Wrexham AFC Soccer Team

Ryan Reynolds is set to make a fortune when he inevitably sells Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC for a huge profit. The actor’s ruthless streak knows no bounds as he continues to look for investment opportunities and targets becoming a billionaire before turning 50, a source exclusively tells In Touch.

“Ryan did not grow up fantasizing about owning a football team,” the source says. “He grew up fantasizing about becoming as rich and popular as possible. For people who know Ryan, the big question right now is what will his exit strategy be with Wrexham?”

In 2020, Ryan, 47, and Rob McElhenney announced their intention to buy the soccer club. The deal was finalized in February 2021. Along with the popular actors now being in charge, the team gained international notoriety when the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham premiered in 2022. The show has since had three seasons and was renewed for a fourth.

“This was an investment that Ryan’s clearly been able to grow and to make into a pop culture sensation,” the insider adds. “Timing his exit from the team and the popular docuseries is going to take careful planning and has to be done without Ryan looking like a heartless, money-driven corporate raider. He’s going to make his money back, but might risk damaging the team or his own image by leaving the business.”

While the source points out that leaving Wrexham is “going to be tricky” for the Canadian actor, “It’s going to happen because Ryan has always framed this project as an investment first and a hobby second. The whole point is to make a lot of money without utterly wrecking his reputation when he gets out. Ryan is deliberating how to do that right now.”

Fans were shocked when the unlikely duo of Ryan and Rob, 47, purchased Wrexham. When it came to owning a soccer team and filming a docuseries, the men admitted that they were just learning as they went.

“The truth is, we didn’t know a f–king thing when we went in there,” the Just Friends star told Variety in 2023. “We knew our hearts were in the right place, we knew we had an agenda that centered on [the town], not us. But other than that, we didn’t have a clue. Then you start to see what’s working and water those plants a little more and watch them grow. Suddenly people are embracing the cameras all around and – not to be too esoteric about it – realizing that these cameras are communicating the story of Wrexham to the rest of the planet.”

Since purchasing the team, Ryan has become an avid fan of Wrexham AFC. After years of being in the fifth tier of the English football league system, the club was promoted in 2023. Ryan and Rob cried tears of joy while watching the match that took their team to the next level. In April, the team was promoted once again to EFL League One.

“A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in North Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney,” Ryan wrote on X at the time. “Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives.”