Wrexham star aims bizarre dig at Ed Sheeran with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney claim

Two Wrexham promotion heroes have caused a stir with Ipswich Town fans after appearing to question how much Ed Sheeran has really done for the Suffolk club, compared to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. 

Atriker Ollie Palmer and goalkeeper Ben Foster were part of the Red Dragons team that clinched a return to the Football League for the first time in 15 years after being crowned National League champions with a record 111 points.

The club's imminent arrival in the EFL was underpinned by their Hollywood owners Reynolds and McElhenney who have pumped £10 million into the North Wales outfit, revitalising their fortunes on the pitch.

Former England international Foster discussed the remarkable season on his own podcast alongside teammate Palmer, where they were both keen to lavish praise on the achievements of their celebrity bosses.

 With Palmer seeking to make a comparison with a high-profile owner of another club, he drew reference to pop star Sheeran, who was raised in Framlingham, Suffolk and has provided shirt sponsorship for Ipswich since the 2021/22 season.

Palmer said: “There’s names as big as them (Reynolds and McElHenney) that own football clubs, lower league. Ed Sheeran, Ipswich. I don’t know what his share of it is, [he’s] part-owner. Has he done what these two guys have done?”

Foster replied: “Nowhere near it. They have just been promoted, in fairness to them, but still.”

Palmer added: “How long has Ed Sheeran been there? Six years? Seven years? And he’s as big as Ryan and Rob, right? Ed Sheeran is huge."

Foster responded: “I’m still not putting him in their bracket, though.”

Palmer continued: “I’m putting Ed Sheeran up there. I’ll ask you, has Ed Sheeran done as much for Ipswich as Rob and Ryan have done? It’s not easy what they’re doing. They make it look easy. And I’m sure Ed Sheeran’s a great guy, I’m just trying to leverage what Rob and Ryan have done – it’s not just the status, [it’s] the hard work they’ve put in.”

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Palmer's comments didn't go down too well with supporters of the Tractor Boys, not least because Bad Habits singer Sheeran is only a sponsor of the club, not an owner like Reynolds and McElhenney at Wrexham.

Fans of the Portman Road club flooded social media with their thoughts, including on the comments section of the YouTube podcast itself.

@danielbruce3557 said: "Ed's a shirt sponsor, not our owner. He's obviously made a bigger impact than expected as a shirt sponsor for the last few seasons, not an owner for the past 6/7 years!! Equivalent to TikTok for you guys. Pleased with what Rob and Ryan are doing with you but guys you've got to correct it."

@flytronica wrote: "Ed Sheeran’s a fan, and has been a shirt sponsor, not quite the same as owning the club lads."

@stevelewis5787 also called out the inaccuracy, writing: "You need to correct this! You show a lack of knowledge that Ed Sheeran is a shirt sponsor and not an owner! Stupid comparison!"

Gamechanger 20 Ltd are the actual owners of Ipswich Town, but is unlikely that fans of the club will lose too much sleep over Palmer and Foster's comments about Sheeran. The East Anglian outfit has just won promotion back to the Championship.