Ryan Reynolds reacts to Wrexham signing ex-Man Utd goalkeeper Ben Foster after U-turn

Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds has posted a message to Ben Foster after the veteran goalkeeper came out of retirement to join Wrexham.

Foster, 39, hasn’t played a competitive game since last May when he played for Watford in the Premier League but has now decided to return to football with the National League high-flyers.

The former England international, who has over 500 career appearances to his name, rejected a move to Newcastle and announced his retirement back in September whilst a move to Tottenham was also blocked when they suffered an injury crisis.

He also recently revealed he turned down an offer from Wrexham at the start of the season – but has now performed a dramatic U-turn to return, 18 years after a loan spell at the Racecourse Ground.

Wrexham owner Reynolds posted a short message to the ex-West Brom ‘keeper after his move was confirmed. He posted on his Instagram story: “Oh, hi @benfosters.”

Foster could be in line to make his Wrexham debut on Saturday when they host York City as the Red Dragons close in on a return to the Football League. Phil Parkinson’s side currently sit three points clear of second-place Notts County at the top of the fifth tier, and also have a game in hand on their closest rivals.

“I’m over the moon. It’s nice to be back and it’s nice to be back as a player too,” Foster told the Wrexham website. “It will be interesting to see how my body feels after training. I’m looking forward to getting started.

“The first time I was here, it was genuinely the springboard to the rest of my career as I got my move to Manchester United at the start of the next season.

“It was absolutely bonkers. If you’d told me 18 years ago that I’d have gone on to have the career that I have had, I probably wouldn’t have believed you to be honest so I do owe a lot to Wrexham.”

Ryan Reynolds has reacted to Ben Foster’s move to Wrexham (Image: vancityreynolds/Instagram) Ben Foster has made the switch to Wrexham (Image: Getty Images)

Speaking on his podcast – Fozcast – earlier this month, Foster explained his decision to decline a move earlier in the season, stating: “Wrexham were one of the clubs I got an offer from earlier in the season actually!”

“Its such a good football community, they really care about their club, and even when I was there they were going through a tough time, but it’s nice to see that they have owners who really care – about the club and the community.”

“It would have been cool, but I had just been playing in the Premier League with Watford and towards the end I didn’t get the same buzz,” he said. “I lost that buzz for it a little bit and that’s why I didn’t carry on going.”

Foster’s move comes after first-choice stopper Rob Lainton was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury and is likely to miss the remainder of the campaign – unless Wrexham reach the play-off final.

Mark Howard and Kai Calderbank-Park are Wrexham’s other senior goalkeepers and there’s no doubt they will benefit and learn from the experience Foster has at his disposal. The experienced campaigner started his career off at Stoke City, before earning a move to Manchester United in 2005.

He spent five years at the Red Devils, making 23 appearances and winning a number of major honours, before making the journey to Birmingham, where he won the League Cup. Foster has also featured for West Brom and Watford in his professional career that spans for almost 20 years.