Ryan Reynolds surprises Wrexham youth football team with £1,600 donation towards their latest kit

Ryan Reynolds has donated £1,600 to children’s football team in Wrexham for them to buy a new kit.

The Hollywood star, 46, is a co-owner of the city’s National League side, alongside Rob McElhenney.

He made the surprise donation via a GoFundMe page set up by Kayleigh Barton, whose son Keegan, 11, plays in the under-12s team – FC United of Wrexham.

Generous: Ryan Reynolds has donated £1,600 to children’s football team in Wrexham for them to buy a new kit

She originally made a plea for £480 for the uniforms so the boys could match ‘as they work so hard’.

Kayleigh told Sky News: ‘I was nearly in tears. I know how much that money means to the club and the lads. Happy is an understatement.’

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘I logged in and it said Ryan Reynolds and I just said “oh my god”, I started shaking I just couldn’t believe it.’

Owners: The Hollywood star, 46, is a co-owner of the city’s National League side, alongside Rob McElhenney

Kind gesture: He made the surprise donation via a GoFundMe page set up by Kayleigh Barton, whose son Keegan, 11, plays in the under-12s team – FC United of Wrexham

Ryan donated £600 first, followed by an extra £1000 and messaged the team’s founder Andrew Ruscoe, to say: ‘Enjoy the new uniforms!’

Andrew told local newspaper The Leader that he’d asked the actor to retweet the fundraising appeal but didn’t expect him to donate himself.

The team responded with a video from several of the boys from the team and an announcement that the new kit would have the Deadpool logo added to the sleeves as a ‘mark of appreciation’.

Wow! Ryan donated £600 first, followed by an extra £1000 and messaged the team’s founder Andrew Ruscoe, to say: ‘Enjoy the new uniforms!

It’s not the first time Ryan has hit the headlines by reaching out to fans in need.

Last year he and Rob made a joint donation of £10,000  to a fundraiser after a player’s son was stillborn.

In July, Ryan also surprised a 13-year-old boy with a video message after the teenager had open-heart surgery. 

The star of comic-book movies such as Deadpool and Green Lantern made headlines last year when he bought the lowly Welsh soccer team along with fellow actor Rob in late 2020.

Their takeover and the fifth-tier team’s subsequent bid for promotion was the subject of hit docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, the latest in a booming trend of behind-the-scenes sports documentaries.

Grateful: The team responded with a video from several of the boys from the team and an announcement that the new kit would have the Deadpool logo added to the sleeves as a ‘mark of appreciation’