Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney Invest in Mexico Soccer’s Club Necaxa

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are expanding their roles as global soccer moguls! 

It’s being reported that Reynolds and McElhenney’s R.R. McReynolds Company have bought a stake in Club Necaxa, the central Mexican soccer club which also has actress Eva Longoria is one of its owners. Longoria reportedly brought in Reynolds and McElhenney as partners – as well as investors Al Tylis and Sam Porter, with the overall goal of growing Necaxa’s profile as a brand and standing within the league. 

Reynolds and McElhenney surprised many fans when they bought a stake in the UK soccer club Wrexham AFC. The Deadpool movie star (Reynolds) and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator (McElhenney) not only built up Wrexham’s club – they also captured the team’s journey from bottom-barrel players to rank-climbing hopefuls in an FX docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham. That series made Wrexham AFC and the town where they reside into international stars; combined with the personnel changes that were made within the team, Wrexham has become a real-life success story, with the team climbing out of the fifth tier of the English Football League (EFL) with to promotions, first to EFL League Two (2022-2023), and as of this month (April 2024) they were promoted to EFL League One. That puts Wrexham AFC just one more league promotion away (EFL Championship) from reaching the top-tier Premier League. The Welcome to Wrexham TV series took home 5 Emmy Awards last year – that unprecedented success has cemented Reynolds and McElhenney as serious power players in the sports entertainment field. 

Necaxa is currently part of Liga MX (or Liga BBVA MX), the top division in Mexican professional soccer. In addition to Longoria, Reynolds, and McElhenney, Necaxa has had other celebrity owners, including former NBA star Shawn Marion, model Kate Upton, MLB player Justin Verlander, and former German soccer player Mesut Özil. Liga MX is the most-watched soccer league in the US (it is noted “by wide margin”), and could be another pivotal move for R.R. McReynolds, in terms of global reach, and brand presence within one of the biggest global sports leagues there is. 

There are no current confirmed plans for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to launch another docuseries for Club Necaxa like they did Wrexham AFC. However, its hard to imagine the pair being brought in by Longoria and co. and not having their proven skill with mixing TV entertainment and real sports league strategy to create a globally-famous team. Stay tuned for further announcements on this deal. 

Welcome to Wrexham is streaming on FX on Hulu. 

Source: Variety