Ryan Reynolds, who has taken Wrexham Football Club to new heights in recent years, may be planning a new venture – perhaps this time with a Canadian team.
The Deadpool actor, along with his business partner, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney took over the Welsh Football Club in 2021, , and promoted it to the Football League, after a 15 year absence.
The Ottawa Sun reports that Reynolds has now joined forces with other businessmen to buy the Ottawa Senators (a National Hockey League franchise) in the city.
Eugene Melnyk’s estate is looking to sell the club after his death in March 2022.
The hockey team will be the first to reach a value of more than $1bn in the top league if the Remington Group (which includes Reynolds) goes through.
According to The Ottawa Sun, if Reynolds’ bid wins, he will build a stadium in downtown Ottawa, with a new entertainment area around it. He would also redevelop the current stadium site.
The newspaper reports that the group has already met with club officials to discuss its intricacies. It also states that the actor wants to reach a quick agreement.
Dwayne the former wrestler Johnson, and Neko Sparks are also reported to have joined forces to bid $950m for the auction’s first round.
If they are successful, this would be the first NHL team owned by a person of color.
The final group of bidders is expected to include both groups.
Sky News contacted Reynolds’ representatives for comment.
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“You must… grow this community”
Reynolds, who is a Vancouver native and has played for Wrexham FC, will be hoping to continue the success that he’s had.
Reynolds told Sky’s US partner, MSNBC last week: “I’m not an expert, or as I call it, soccer, for our American audiences, but I have adopted it and it’s rightly so.
“Community and club must work together.”
“I think that we did a good job with Wrexham FC because… we don’t have an army of publicists and lawyers around us. We are very accessible and responsible to the community as well as the club.
“If you want to grow your club, you need to work together and grow this community.”
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Reynolds and McElhenney sent Wrexham’s fans into a frenzy last week when they said the club could hire the recently retired Gareth Bale, Wales’ talismanic ex-captain.
Bale said, however, that the prospect is unlikely.
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