I’ve discussed possibly owning a bar with my friends roughly one billion times. But I’ve never once discussed doing so with a stranger. That would be weird, obviously. Even stranger, though, would be buying a professional soccer team in a foreign country with someone I’ve never actually met. Especially if that person didn’t even really like watching sports. However, such minor trivialities didn’t stop Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney from doing just that. How did that happen? The two co-owners of the Welsh football club Wrexham AFC discussed how they ended up purchasing the soccer squad when the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Their story begins like so many other modern tales – with someone slipping into the others DMs.
Reynolds visited McElhenney while the latter was filling in for Jimmy Kimmel, and that’s how we finally got the story of their unlikely partnership. It all began with Reynolds reaching out to McElhenney in DMs after he saw Mac’s memorable dance sequence on It’s Always Sunny. The two then become friends, but without ever actually meeting in person.
That didn’t happen until they made the seemingly absurd decision to purchase a European football team together. We’ll get to see exactly what that was like on their upcoming FX docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham. But if this interview—which also touched on their height differences, experiences learning soccer’s rules, and more—is any indication, it should make for one entertaining show.
Not because we have any idea if they’re competent owners. It’s because they’re obviously real friends and care about each other. And that’s why this might ultimately be the single greatest outcome to someone sliding into another person’s DMs. Sure, that works out for both parties sometimes. But how many times has that led to a meaningful relationship, a successful TV show, and co-owning a football team together? Way less times than my friends and I have talked about owning a single pub, that’s for sure.