Is Wrexham’s Hollywood Story Actually A Fairytale?

Wrexham AFC. Despite being placed in League One, you always seem to hear about them. Based in Wales - Wrexham are an unconventional club that are spearheaded by a Hollywood pair that utilise their popularity, media coverage, and finances to push the club forward.

A famous cup tie against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, a new Kop being built at the Racecourse Ground, and consecutive promotions in 2023 and 2024 to take the club to League One. Nevertheless, with success comes jealousy and hate, and Wrexham have plenty of that. They might not have the fairytale story of Ipswich Town or AFC Bournemouth, but is the recent success of Wrexham a fairytale, or is it all down to money?

The Takeover Of Reynolds And McElhenney

Two famous actors taking over a Welsh football club certainly was not a part of the script, but every fairytale needs a twist and a happy ending – that became a reality for Wrexham in 2021 as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased the football club for a reported £2m.

While at face value, the pair might not appear as the idle owners of a professional sports team – the Hollywood duo brought immediate changes to Wrexham with global attention, investment, tourism, and engagement with the community all improving thanks to the new ownership. An estimated £180m was gained from hotel bookings in the local area since the takeover, while a reported 319,000 watched the first episode of the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary. Additionally, on social media, the TikTok account of the Red Dragons has amassed over one million followers, and their owned content has been viewed by an estimated 708 million people. Reynolds and McElhenney have immediately stabilised and strengthened the financial pyramid, alongside creating an engaging internet audience that allows Wrexham to have spending power above their divisional rivals.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have big plans for @Wrexham_AFC pic.twitter.com/KKnR6RqQXn

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) November 9, 2020

However, despite their impressive work off the field, Wrexham’s owners have also made a gigantic impact on it.

Marquee Signings

Typically, big names follow and work with other big names in acting, and that is the strategy that Wrexham’s acting owners implemented on their new football club – signing the biggest-name players to weaken the teams surrounding them. Ollie Palmer was the first player through the door under the new ownership – joining the National League side from AFC Wimbledon for a sum of £300,000 before Ollie Rathbone was captured for £500,000, and the transfer record was broken again for the signing of Mo Faal from West Brom.

The Welsh club went on to spend £1.18m in the summer of 2021, with notable signings of Ben Tozer, James Jones, and Tom O’Connor joining the club, while Wrexham were also able to complete the free transfer of Paul Mullin, the striker having scored 34 goals for Cambridge in the previous.

#OTD in 2023, Ben Foster rejoined Wrexham, playing a big part in their promotion from the National League! 🙌#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/FwO8F6msdP

— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) March 23, 2025

In the next seasons, Wrexham continued to progressively spend, strengthening their squad and advancing up the football pyramid. The club also took advantage of the free agent market, signing Elliot Lee and former Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Alongside their new global success, the Red Dragons were becoming a force on the pitch, with the club spending a record £2m this season to prepare for League One.

Spending Compared To Competition

Both Reynolds and McElhenney dream of Premier League football at the Racecourse Ground. However, in the current state of play, the teams and divisions that they are playing in - team's cannot compete with Wrexham’s spending. During their National League promotional season, Wrexham’s main rivals in Notts County did not spend a penny in the transfer market, relying on free transfers. In 2023/24, Wrexham were promoted to the third tier of English football, but this time finishing in second place. Stockport County finished as the League Two champions, but in the transfer market, Wrexham were superior once again. Similarly to Notts County, Stockport did not spend in the transfer market, bringing players in on free transfers and relying upon their core group and chemistry to guide them to promotion.

🚨 Wrexham sign James McClean from Wigan Athletic for huge fee, it's their biggest name yet pic.twitter.com/pyeUmGR4uZ

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) August 4, 2023

While it is rare to see any team have back-to-back promotions and then look likely for a potential third. However, on and off the pitch, it is clear that the Welsh team have had an advantage over their competition.

Heroes Or Villains?

It has certainly been a Hollywood script at the Racecourse Ground, and if you are a Wrexham AFC fan, you will not want it to end. However, from the outside, without discrediting the fantastic work of their star owners, the playing field between Wrexham and their competition is clear, and the real test for the Red Dragons will be in the Championship – whether they can compete with a team with higher quality players and higher financial power. But if Wrexham can solidify their place in the second tier and even flirt with a possible promotion to the Premier League, then that would be a fairytale finish.