Wrexham FC owner Ryan Reynolds buys home in Welsh village

A-list Hollywood couple Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively appear to be getting ready to move to the United Kingdom in the once sleepy village of Marford in Wrexham County Borough on the border of England and Wales. The village and its residents are also ready to welcome them with the red carpet.

Once the site of a former quarry, the area has been in the public eye as of late thanks to its football club, Wrexham FC. Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor and close pal Rob McElhenney bought the club in November 2020, bringing a ton of media attention with them. Since taking over the club, the Hollywood pair had been coming to the UK regularly to watch games, with Lively often seen supporting the team in the stands as well.

Now, Reynolds and Lively are reportedly making the commitment to keep a closer eye on Wrexham's day-to-day activities. In order to do so, they need to stay close by for longer periods of time. The "Deadpool" actor decided to make his family more comfortable in the UK by buying a £1.5million home just five miles away from Wrexham FC's facilities.

The club plays its home games at the Racecourse Ground, and 46-year-old Reynolds decided to invest in a 4-bedroom property just a stone's throw away. Now, the couple and their four children can spend more time in the area and have a place that they can call home.

According to The Sun, the property is located in the "poshest" area of the village, but it will still prove to be extremely different from the family's primary home in New York. The actors and their three daughters and newborn baby reside in a £4.3 million luxury residence in the Big Apple, but may now be getting ready to settle into the quiet village life.

Needless to say, locals are giddy with excitement at the prospect of having Hollywood A-listers as neighbours. Reynolds is already seen as some kind of a town hero after injecting much-needed cash into the ailing football club. Now, he is set to win more hearts by settling in as a local himself.

Currently sitting second on the National League table, the celebrations will likely be unprecedented if Wrexham FC manages to get promoted to the Football League. It will be a massive achievement for Reynolds and McElhenney, who reportedly invested £10m to get the club back on its feet.

Despite being a fifth-tier team, Wrexham FC has constantly been in the news as of late, proving just how much marketing value the actors have brought to the club.

Local pubs such as the Trevor Arms, the Red Lion and The Crown are all hoping to serve the actors a pint or two if they find themselves needing to wind down. It won't be too difficult for locals to run into the new residents, with Marford only home to a population of about 7,500 people.

The village is well known for Gothic-style architecture as well as the community-run Maes y Pant nature reserve. The 70-acre reserve could be a great contrast to the fast-paced life back in New York, and the couple's young children could have to opportunity to join them for adventures on the area's numerous footpaths and mountain bike trails. The crime rate in the area is also very low, making it an ideal haven for the growing brood.

The village does not have a lot of commercial attractions, with many residents often travelling to neighbouring towns to visit shops. However, if the club continues to gain popularity, it remains to be seen how much it will affect the local economy.

Thanks no doubt to its owners' connections at the other side of the pond, Wrexham FC will be featuring as one of the opponents during Manchester United's summer tour of the United States later this year.