Ryan Reynolds did not invent celebrity football ownership.
But he helped prove what it could become.
When Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac took control of Wrexham, they brought money.
That mattered.
But they brought something even more valuable.
Attention.
Then they did the clever bit.
They pointed that attention towards the football club, the town and the supporters.
Not themselves.
Welcome to Wrexham gave millions of people who had never been anywhere near North Wales a reason to care.
Then the football delivered.
The club climbed.
The audience grew.
The town became part of the story.
That is not celebrity window dressing.
That is what happens when football, culture and storytelling work together.
And it has got me thinking about Los Angeles.
Football Ownership Has Changed
For most of football history, an owner brought money.
Preferably lots of it.
Then he sat in the directors’ box looking worried.
Modern sport is different.
Attention has value.
Storytelling has value.
Distribution has value.
Community has value.
An actor can reach millions.
So can a musician.
A producer understands storytelling.
An athlete understands competition.
An entrepreneur understands risk.
The right ownership group can bring far more than a cheque.
But celebrity alone is useless.
You still need football people.
You still need infrastructure.
You still need supporters.
You still need something real.
Otherwise you have just bought yourself a very expensive selfie.
Los Angeles Already Understands This
LAFC proved that bringing figures from entertainment, sport and business into the ownership of a Los Angeles football club can be enormously powerful.
It helped connect the club to the wider culture of the city.
Smart.
Modern.
Very Los Angeles.
But LAFC started with a blank sheet of paper.
The Aztecs don’t.
Our culture does not need to be invented.
It needs to be rediscovered.
We Were Doing This 50 Years Ago
Celebrity ownership would not be some marketing idea bolted onto the Los Angeles Aztecs today.
It is already part of the club’s DNA.
Elton John was part of the original ownership.
George Best played for the Aztecs.
Johan Cruyff played for the Aztecs.
Rinus Michels coached them.
Football.
Music.
Hollywood.
Fashion.
Rebellion.
Los Angeles.
It was all there.
The Aztecs were doing football and entertainment together before anybody had given it a clever marketing name.
Maybe they were simply 50 years too early.
We Are Open To Conversations
We are now open to conversations with a small number of actors, musicians, athletes, producers, entrepreneurs and other cultural figures who believe they could add something meaningful to the next chapter of the Los Angeles Aztecs.
Not ambassadors.
Not paid endorsements.
Owners.
There is a difference.
We are not trying to fill a shareholder list with famous names.
Fame alone does nothing for us.
We want people who participate.
People who care.
People who open doors.
People with ideas.
People who understand Los Angeles.
People who understand what football can mean to a community.
People who want to help build something rather than arrive once everybody else has done the hard bit.
I am not interested in somebody holding an Aztecs scarf for an Instagram photograph and disappearing before half-time.
Football already has enough influencers.
We want builders.
We Don’t Need One Ryan Reynolds
Everyone in football now seems to be searching for the next Ryan Reynolds.
Maybe that is the wrong question.
The Aztecs do not necessarily need one enormous celebrity owner.
The more interesting idea might be a group.
Actors.
Musicians.
Athletes.
Producers.
Directors.
Entrepreneurs.
Different people.
Different networks.
Different audiences.
One shared project.
Not celebrity endorsement.
Celebrity participation.
That feels much more Los Angeles.
This Story Already Exists
We are not manufacturing fictional heritage because a branding agency said nostalgia sells.
The original chapters are already written.
The pitch was shared by icons.
The championship was won.
Then the lights went out for decades.
Now we are switching them back on.
The Supporters Are Not Extras
Wrexham understood something football occasionally forgets.
The supporters are not background actors.
They are the story.
The city is not merely where you put the stadium.
It is the story.
That principle matters to us.
The Los Angeles Aztecs should not become another football product dropped into a market and sold back to supporters.
Celebrity ownership can amplify the project.
It should never replace the people the club is supposed to belong to.
That means supporters need more than tickets, merchandise and another app asking them to engage.
They need a voice.
They need representation.
They need a genuine stake in what is being built.
Los Angeles Should Be Los Angeles
Wrexham found its own story.
We have to find ours.
Los Angeles should not try to become Wrexham with palm trees.
That would be absurd.
Los Angeles should be Los Angeles: bigger, bolder, more culturally diverse, and built on a model where celebrity participation meets genuine fan ownership.
Imagine The Ownership Table
A musician shaping matchday culture.
An actor helping tell the story.
A former athlete bringing sporting credibility.
A producer documenting the journey.
An entrepreneur building the business.
And right alongside them, the supporters holding a real stake in the club’s governance.
That is the table.
Different people bringing different things.
Not competing for attention.
Building something together.
Then one day all of them standing there watching the Los Angeles Aztecs walk back onto a football pitch.
That is the opportunity.
Not buying into the story after it becomes fashionable.
Being there before it happens.
Hollywood Loves A Comeback
Hollywood has spent a century telling comeback stories.
We already have the first act.
The next one is unwritten.
Wrexham showed what can happen when football meets entertainment and the people involved genuinely care.
LAFC showed that celebrity ownership can work in Los Angeles.
The Aztecs can take another path.
A historic football identity.
A modern ownership model.
Cultural figures who participate rather than pose.
Supporters sitting at the same table.
And a city capable of carrying the story around the world.
We are open to those conversations now.
Not passengers.
Not endorsements.
Not somebody who wants their photograph in the directors’ box.
Owners.
Builders.
Characters.
People who want to be part of the rebirth rather than arrive for the premiere.
The ending has not been written yet.
That is precisely why now is interesting.
The premiere is years away. The construction starts now.
If you are interested in joining the Los Angeles Aztecs story and would like to discuss becoming involved, contact me directly at scott@footballisforthefans.com.