Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were never seriously interested in buying Hartlepool, says Raj Singh, with Wrexham always “their first choice”.
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Hollywood pair teamed up in 2021Explored various optionsSettled on project in North WalesWHAT HAPPENED?
The Hollywood pair teamed up in the spring of 2021 to move a long way outside of their comfort zone and buy into football ownership. Various options were mulled over when the boldest of ideas was first floated, with Wrexham executive director Humphrey Ker having claimed that teams in the north of England and Scotland were considered for investment.
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Ker told the in 2022: “Rob was always lightly intrigued [in football]. He’s a big sports fan. We knew from the jump we wanted to find somewhere that needed a helping hand or felt like it deserved a stroke of luck. Hartlepool was one we looked at vaguely, Macclesfield was talked about. There was a couple who were talked about that were in trouble.”
WHAT THEY SAID
Hartlepool are still looking for a buyer, but current chairman Singh insists he did not force Reynolds and McElhenney elsewhere with high demands – regardless of what some disgruntled supporters may think. He has said in the club’s : “On Wednesday I released a statement to give our supporters an update on the sale of the club. It was really disappointing to hear some of the comments from some of our so-called fans, although not unexpected. I have been accused of putting a high asking price on the club and told that I should have sold the club to the Americans a couple of years ago when I had the chance. Wrexham was always their first choice and they were keeping their options open by talking to other clubs like ourselves. At the time, I asked for half-a-million initial payment for the club.
“If recent reports are to be believed, Wrexham had a deal agreed for a similar amount for Luke Armstrong. So you mean to tell me that they wouldn’t have paid that amount if they really wanted to buy Hartlepool United? The reality is there isn’t a queue of people out on Clarence Road to take over the club, just as there wasn’t one six years ago. Having said all of that, I’m still trying to run the club to the best of my ability with the resources at our disposal. All teams go through bad patches during the season. I believe we’ve got a manager who is tried and tested in these situations and will steer us clear. We all need to keep supporting the manager and the team and hopefully things will turn around sometime soon.”
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Hartlepool sit 13th in the National League table as things stand, having slipped out of the Football League again last season, while Wrexham are riding high in League Two and daring to dream of securing back-to-back promotions.