Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to play for Wrexham in the US

Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been named in the club’s initial squad for a seven-a-side tournament due to take place this summer in the United States.

The Hollywood actors, who bought the club in 2021, are due to play alongside Wrexham player-coach David Jones and former players Paul Rutherford, Shaun Pearson and Mark Carrington.

Wrexham have signed up to play in The Soccer Tournament, a winner-takes-all tournament in Cary, North Carolina from June 1-4 with 32 teams competing for a 1million US dollars (£831,000) prize.

The Dragons confirmed their participation earlier this month, joining a field that already includes former Fulham and Tottenham midfielder Clint Dempsey’s Team Dempsey, Hashtag United, Liga MX side Club Nexaca and US Women, made up of former United States internationals.

Deadpool actor Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia creator McElhenney announced their intention to buy Wrexham in September 2020 and completed a deal for Wales’ oldest club the following February.

Since then, heavy investment has turned the club into National League promotion contenders and they made headlines in late January when they came close to knocking Championship side Sheffield United out of the FA Cup, instead getting a replay at Bramall Lane which they lost 3-1 after late goals.

The fly-on-the-wall ‘Welcome To Wrexham’ documentary has given the club a global profile, and participating in TST is seen as an opportunity to continue that.

Should Wrexham claim the big prize, the club has pledged to spend half of the money on community projects.