The purchase of a small Welsh football club by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has been consistently portrayed as the ultimate Cinderella story, not least in the pair’s glossy Disney+ documentary which shows their attempts to revive hopes of a former mining town.
But the publication of the League Two club’s latest accounts is a reminder of the financial clout the players have brought with them to help Wrexham consistently crush their nearest opposition.
In the year ending June 2023, Wrexham AFC recorded losses of £5.1 million ($6.4 million), a big jump from the 2022 figure of £2.9 million ($3.7 million of dollars).
Those losses were financed from the deep pockets of Reynolds and McElhenney. The club currently owes the pair £8.98 million ($11.3 million), with last year’s increase in debts matching Wrexham’s losses.
“These losses were deemed necessary to enable the club to maximize its full potential in the shortest time practically possible,” the club said when it announced the earnings last week, adding that there is no immediate rush to repay the pair from lending to owners.
In fact, the mounting losses are primarily the result of a massive increase in wage spending by the club.
Wrexham’s wage bill increased by more than 70% to £6.9 million ($8.7 million) in 2023.
This is despite the club taking in just £10.5 million ($13.2 million) last year.
“Movie Star Money”
THE It’s always sunny in Philadelphia The star said he was fascinated by the pyramid format of the English football system, which differs significantly from the franchising model used in US sports in that it allows any club to reach the top division.
McElhenney, however, joked that he needed “movie star money” to realize his dream of dragging a team through this championship pyramid, then asking Reynolds, who is also a very successful entrepreneur, to help him finance the project.
The pair used their star appeal and comedic chops to create viral social media videos and an Emmy Award-winning documentary series. Welcome to Wrexhamwhich they turned into sponsorship deals that rivals Wrexham could only dream of.
United Airlines is Wrexham’s shirt sponsor, replacing a previous deal with TikTok.
But revenue from these channels still appears well below the team’s output.
Wrexham have signed players, including strikers Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer, from teams playing in a league two levels above Reynolds and McElhenney’s club.
To attract them and others, the pair paid wages well above the market rate for the National League division Wrexham played in last season.
Opposing fans have complained that, despite their popular public profiles, Reynolds and McElhenney’s behavior is anti-competitive and more in line with the much-maligned state-backed operations in the English Premier League.
After gaining promotion to League Two last year, Wrexham are now on course for another leap into League One, as the club find themselves in one of the automatic promotion spots as the season draws to a close.
Despite some controversy over the mountains of money invested in the club over the past two years, there is a growing expectation that the club will become self-sufficient as football operations become regulated.
The club’s revenues doubled last year, largely thanks to a big increase in retail revenue from shirt sales.
In signing off on its financial results, Wrexham anticipated that it expected much better financial results for the conclusion of this football season, with proceeds from Welcome to Wrexham documentary that aims to bring the club closer to the top of that pyramid.