Ryan Reynolds would ‘love’ Wrexham to get the better of Tom Brady’s Birmingham

Ryan Reynolds has expressed his desire to beat Birmingham minority owner Tom Brady in the ‘Hollywood Derby’ and revealed how his celebrity friends love to hang out at “unspoiled” Wrexham.

NFL great Brady’s Birmingham visit Wrexham on Thursday night with precious Sky Bet League One points at stake and revenge in the Welsh air after the Blues won the reverse fixture at St Andrew’s in September.

Brady was in the directors’ box that night alongside former England captain David Beckham and, as Wrexham slid to a 3-1 defeat, Reynolds said he jokingly texted the pair about “failing bone structure and age-related material”.

“There is definitely a lot of anticipation over this game,” Deadpool actor and Wrexham co-owner Reynolds said on the Men in Blazers podcast. “Would I love to beat Tom Brady at sports? Yes – an emphatic yes.

“Would Rob (McElhenney)? Maybe more. I think Rob has a skosh more rabies about it all. It’s the big one.”

It is almost four years since Reynolds and McElhenney completed their takeover of Wrexham, the pair having transformed a club which had spent more than a decade in the National League doldrums.

The Red Dragons, having won back-to-back promotions, are currently third in League One – five points behind leaders Birmingham – and the club and community now has a global profile through the award-winning ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary series.

Overseas visitors have flocked to the Racecourse since the February 2021 takeover, and Hollywood A-listers Channing Tatum, Eva Longoria, Hugh Jackman, Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell have also attended Wrexham games and mingled with fans.

Reynolds said: “I don’t have to pitch them anything. They’ve seen the show and they know ‘how the sausage gets made’ to a certain degree.