Wrexham‘s celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have travelled to watch their side’s Championship clash with Wolves less than a day after announcing chief executive Michael Williamson’s surprise departure.
Reynolds and McElhenney announced in a joint statement on Friday that Williamson was leaving the club after two years at the Racecourse Ground, with club director Shaun Harvey set to take the reins as acting CEO while they seek a successor.
‘We thank Michael Williamson for his two years at Wrexham and for his work taking the club from League 1 to the Championship,’ the Hollywood actors’ statement read.
‘Since our takeover five years ago, Wrexham have had historic success on the pitch and won hearts all over the globe.
‘We remain focused on our most important task: to make the Wrexham community proud.
‘Shaun Harvey has been an integral part of this journey from the beginning, and we know Shaun will give every support to (manager) Phil Parkinson and the lads on the pitch while keeping the broader Wrexham community roaring us on.’
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds pictured watching Wrexham take on Wolves on Saturday
The American actor takes photos with supporters as he arrives at the Racecourse Ground
Williamson arrived at Wrexham in 2024 and oversaw a period that saw the club win promotion from League One to the Championship and consolidate themselves in the second tier, narrowly missing out on the playoffs with a seventh-place finish.
Wrexham’s form this campaign has been less fruitful, with just four wins so far leaving Parkinson’s side in 17th place heading into Saturday’s clash with Wolves.
After arriving and meeting fans outside the stadium, Reynolds and McElhenney took their place in the Racecourse Ground stands hoping to watch their Wrexham side earn back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Wolves, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, took the lead in the 25th minute before Wrexham’s Lewis O’Brien equalised moments later, to the delight of the celebrity owners.
As the matched ebbed and flowed, both sides fought hard for a winning goal but ended up settling for a share of the spoils, the 1-1 draw moving Wrexham to 15th and Wolves to third in the Championship.
After the match, Parkinson backed Harvey to adapt seamlessly to his new temporary CEO role, saying: ‘Ryan spoke to me yesterday morning to let me know the news. I had a brief chat with Shaun this morning; he has been an important figure. He understands everything about the club.’
While watching the 1-1 draw, Reynolds was pictured chatting to former Wrexham star James McClean, who left the Racecourse Ground to join his hometown team Derry City in January.
McClean’s appearance at Wrexham is particularly poignant on Remembrance Weekend, given the controversy he courted throughout his career by refusing to wear football shirts featuring a poppy.
Reynolds pictured chatting to former Wrexham footballer James McClean in the stands
Wrexham players, displaying poppies, observe a minute of silence on Remembrance weekend
Clubs across English football will observe a period of silence before matches this weekend, with players also wearing poppy-adorned shirts to honour those who lost their lives in conflict.
McClean’s objection to wearing a poppy is rooted in his upbringing in Derry, having grown up on the Creggan estate, where six of the 13 civilians shot dead by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday in 1972 were from.
