Ben Foster has hailed Wrexham’s “ridiculous” journey as Hollywood owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds celebrate their fifth anniversary in charge of the Welsh club.
The former England and Manchester United goalkeeper played his part in Wrexham’s rise from the National League to the Sky Bet Championship, helping them secure the first of three promotions as the club ended a 15-year exile from the EFL in 2023.
It is a story that has gone global thanks to to the award-winning ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ docuseries that has been as much about community as club and shone a spotlight on characters inside the dressing room and the city itself.
Deadpool star Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Mac completed their shock takeover of the club on February 9, 2021 and have been regular visitors to the SToK Cae Ras in the intervening five years.
Actors Hugh Jackman, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Eva Longoria are just some of the famous faces spotted at a Wrexham game since the takeover, while fans from as far afield as Australia and Argentina have flocked to North Wales with many of them popping in to the now-familiar Turf pub next to the ground.
Foster told the Press Association: “With Salford City, you’ve got footballers running the show who’ve done it all before.
“They know how football clubs run, and sometimes that brings a mindset of what won’t work. Birmingham have got very wealthy owners, but Wrexham is different.
“Rob and Ryan didn’t really know what they were doing when they took over a football club. They invested money, but they also invested their own energy.
“They put their personal interest and energy into it in a way you rarely see. I genuinely think if you asked them what they’re most proud of, Wrexham would be right up there with anything they’ve done in acting or business.
“To take something you didn’t fully understand and build it into what it is today, you have to take huge pride in that. It’s amazing.”
Mac and Reynolds had actually never met before buying Wrexham, with the former’s interest in purchasing a football club stirred by “sitting on the couch watching Sunderland ‘Til I Die” (the Netflix docuseries about the Black Cats).
Buying Aldershot, Carlisle and Hartlepool were discussed, as well as potential ventures in Ireland and Scotland.
“We wanted to buy a club that had a history and a connection to the community,” Mac said after he and Reynolds stepped foot in Wrexham for the first time.
“When we looked at clubs the list got smaller and smaller and nothing came close to Wrexham.”
At the same press conference, Reynolds – who in 2025 described his ownership as the “greatest four years” of his life – said: “We’d be lying if the dream wasn’t the Premier League.”
Dismissed by some back then as a “publicity stunt” that bold claim is now incredibly within grasp.
Record revenue driven by massive growth in commercial income has been invested on and off the pitch; a grateful local authority awarding the Freedom of Wrexham to Mac and Reynolds.
Phil Parkinson, appointed as manager within five months of Mac and Reynolds taking control from the Wrexham Supporters Trust, has overseen back-to-back-to-back promotions and led them into the Championship play-off places.
Foster said: “It’s ridiculous. It will never be done again. Non-league promotion, promotion, promotion, and already being in promotion places at this level is outrageous.
“I said a year or two ago I thought they’d be in the Premier League within three, four or five years.
“Getting out of the Championship is a big ask – it’s a tough, competitive league with a lot of money involved. But they’ve done it the right way – they’ve given the manager the power to bring in the players he wants, to understand who they are.
“There’s no reason why they can’t keep progressing, because as an achievement, it will never be replicated again.”
:: Ben Foster was speaking ahead of new content from CGK Studios, the content production company behind That Wrexham Podcast – a joint venture with Wrexham AFC that gives fans deeper access to the players, the club and the stories that define it. The show is co-hosted by former Wrexham AFC captain Ben Tozer and Foster, with weekly episodes available on Spotify and YouTube.
