Ryan and Rob’s best Wrexham quotes – from ‘be my stepdad’ to ‘I’ll break his ribs’

They are barely three years into their ownership, but Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have already taken Wrexham on quite the ride.

The Hollywood duo have guided the Red Dragons to the FA Cup fourth round after a brilliant 4-3 win at Coventry, Wembley for the FA Trophy and now into the English Football League for the first time since 2008.

At times, the tension left them in a Deadpool of sweat and having taken over the club during the Coronavirus pandemic, it has not always been sunny in Wrexham.

READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney handed £25m Wrexham boost on eve of promotion

But while there were times when Phil Parkinson’s side seemed to make things harder for themselves; under the ownership of the acting sensations, they finally took the gigantic step their passionate fan base has been waiting 15 years for.

Daily Star Sport considers some of the owners’ most unforgettable quotes and moments.

‘I thought football was boring’

When work on a new 5,000 capacity stand begins, Reynolds and McElhenney may put in a request for some bigger seats in the director’s box. After-all, Wrexham always keep them on the edge of theirs.

Before he agreed to join forces with Reynolds, McElhenney admitted he was never the biggest fan of the Beautiful Game.

But after former Manchester United keeper Ben Foster saved a 96th-minute penalty from Notts County ace Cedwyn Scott, to secure a stunning 3-2 victory, McElhenney admitted he was completely wrong about the beautiful game.

“I can’t believe there was a time when I thought football was boring,” the comedy genius tweeted after the match.

One fan fired back straight away: “I love that you changed your mind.”

He may well have grown a few grey hairs since his involvement with the club, but he has certainly been won over.

‘I’ve lost nine years off my life…’

Wrexham vs Dover in the Conference was never really set to cause the untimely death of a Hollywood legend, but these are strange times.

In March last year Wrexham were 5-2 with less than half an hour to play. They won 6-5 thanks to a last-gasp Jordan Davies winner

Ryan wrote: “I just lost 9 years off my life. And I’m okay with that. Apologies to my family. Also, bury me in Wales.”

He then addded: “I love every second of hating it.Wrexham AFC is the greatest drug on earth.”

Deadpool star Reynolds wasn’t the only Wrexham fan left utterly broken as a result of the thriller though. Replying to the club’s tweet announcing full-time, one wrote: “Please don’t do that again. My heart can’t take it!”

The ‘Stepdad’ clause

What is your favourite moment from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s ownership of Wrexham? Let us know in the comments section below

If Ryan Reynolds was ever going to channel the Deadpool assassin within him, it would likely be to defend his mother from those brave enough to shoot their shot. However, if you are playing well for Wrexham, you may be in with an opportunity of dating his mother Tammy.

After Wrexham captain Ben Tozer joked that he had been flirting with the Canadian’s 77-year-old mother, Reynolds took to twitter in unforgettable fashion. He tweeted, “get promoted and I’ll make you my new stepdad, Tozer!”

Tozer replied: “I’m not quite her favourite, you know, we had a lovely hug though. She’s not a bad looking woman at 77, it’s got to be said.”

Now they are officially a League Two club, the Dragons skipper may have to start eying up some potential Wrexham restaurants he and Tammy can visit – with Reynolds’ blessing of course.

‘I was expecting to drink, but…’

Reynolds is certainly not the first person from across the pond to be taken aback by the drinking capabilities of those in the country. Him and McElhenney both paid a visit to the local Wrexham boozer ‘The Turf’ which is a mere stones throw away from the ground.

But what may have initially been anticipated as a quick “hello” over a swift half pint, became a drinking session which nearly lasted two days. Not only did they spend an evening drinking with the locals they returned the next morning and carried on by drinking shots of gin.

“I was expecting to drink but I wasn’t expecting to do multiple shots of gin, which is exactly what we did,” Reynolds laughed. We imagine there was a sore head or two after that session.

‘I’d offer to get you a SAG’

Of course, a big part of football culture is slamming your fiercest rivals with a flurry of passive aggressive digs. Their quest for promotion hit a Barnet sized pothole, as the Red Dragons drew 0-0 away to Barnet.

However, the biggest talking point came when Callum McFadzean was given a red card, after the referee adjudged him to have trod on Barnet shot-stopper Laurie Walker. After Parkinson was sent off for clashing with Walker and accusing him of play-acting, the Bees goalkeeper told Reynolds he should be given an acting role in his next film.

Incredibly, he managed to get a bite out of the Wrexham supremo, who replied “”I’d offer to get you a SAG [Screen Actor’s Guild] card, but the risk of a paper cut is too high.”

‘Beautiful, heartbreaking, soul-deadening’

Ryan and Rob’s first visit to a Wrexham game? Away on a Tuesday night in Maidenhead of course.

There they saw the Dragons go two behind early on before going down to 10 men. Because Bryce Hosannah was sent off. But it was actually Paul Mullin who elbowed the fella.

The Dragons then came back to 2-2 before a late Josh Kelly sucker-punch.

But despite all that, Ryan seemed to rather enjoy it.

He wrote: “Football is a beautiful, heartbreaking, soul-deadening, evil and gorgeous game and I’m never sleeping again.”

‘Living in our heads rent free’

Wrexham will face Manchester United in a pre-season friendly across the pond in the summer. Of course, there was only one way to announce the news – a video sketch with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Their video with the legendary manager saw the pair try to talk to the Scotsman over zoom, except everything they say is greeted with a palpable silence.

“He’s living in our heads rent-free,” Reynolds said during the brilliant exchange. The climax of the video was that the duo had forgotten to unmute themselves and Ferguson did not hear him.

Fortunately for them, their Wrexham side will have to compete with Erik ten Hag instead of Ferguson – although, considering United’s much improved campaign, that will still be quite the ask.

‘This was potentially lifesaving for you…’

Wrexham fans have been laughing and cheering throughout the journey. However, Reynolds and McElhenney also both sent a very serious and important message.

After Reynolds lost a bet that McElhenney would not be able to learn any Welsh, the Deadpool actor not only had to undergo a colonoscopy as a forfeit, he had to broadcast it for the world to see. But what may have initially been intended as a light laugh, became a very serious and important matter, as the doctor discovered some polyps – a projecting growth of tissue from a surface in the body – that could have been cancerous.

The doctor said, “this was potentially lifesaving for you. I’m not kidding, I’m not being overly dramatic.”

McElhenney then booked himself in for an appointment and even agreed to broadcast it to the world as well. It was a vital reminder for all people to consult a doctor if they are concerned about any potential lumps in their body.

‘I’m going to break his ribs’

Reynolds, McElhenney and everybody at the Racecourse Ground were put through the ringer during Wrexham’s 3-2 victory over Notts County. With a narrow lead, Parkinson’s side conceded a penalty in the dying seconds of extra time.

The Hollywood duo could barely watch as Magpies ace Scott stepped up to take the penalty that could have decided the entire race for promotion. However, Foster guessed correctly, got strong hands on the effort, and pushed it away to safety.

A jubilant Reynolds was still partying on cloud nine when he did an interview with BT Sports after the match. “When I get my hands on Ben Foster, he’s gonna be on the injured list because I’m gonna break ribs I’m gonna hug him so hard.”

‘I thought I was going to die’

Football is very rarely an easy watch, even if you are Hollywood royalty. Before they were winning matches like they were going out of fashion, Wrexham were enduring some of the most tense matches in their history.

One particular match which was a knife edge was their FA Trophy semi-final clash against Stockport County at the Racecourse Ground. With the score at 0-0 going into added time, the match appeared to be heading for a penalty shootout, until Paul Mullin scored two goals in injury time to seal a sensational victory.

You can imagine how Reynolds felt after the match. “I’ve never yelled this loud in my life,” he tweeted. “I thought I was going to die when he put the ball in the air like that.”

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