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- Hollywood stars completed takeover in 2021
- Overseen promotion back to Football League
- Global interest in Welsh outfit continues to build
WHAT HAPPENED? The Welsh outfit have enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence since seeing Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney complete a stunning takeover of the club in February 2021. They are now stars of their own documentary series, have secured promotion back to the Football League in record-breaking style and enjoyed a pre-season tour of the United States that included friendly outings against Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester United. Wrexham’s popularity is growing throughout the world, with Thomas of the opinion that they now stand alongside more established top-flight outfits.
WHAT THEY SAID: The Wrexham icon – who also spent time at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford in his playing days - has told the Daily Mail of the remarkable story playing out at the Racecourse: “I bump into a lot of VIPs at United and when they find out I played for Wrexham, it's what they want to talk about. Things have changed so much. Wrexham are like a super-club now. They get mentioned in the same breath as Liverpool, United and Chelsea!”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wrexham dominated the National League in 2022-23, with the threat of Notts County fended off to claim the fifth tier title, and further progress in 2023-24 is expected despite the quality of domestic rivals increasing. Another former Wrexham star, Dave Brammer, added on the targets from this point: “The competition will get stronger from here and it'll be interesting to see how the fans react when they don't win every week. Fans from other clubs will be jealous because they would have loved the investment for their team. So Wrexham will have targets on their back. We've seen other clubs get promotion, have a bounce and go again and Wrexham should be in the Championship in five years.”
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WHAT NEXT? Reynolds and McElhenney have made no secret of the fact that they want to reach the Premier League while calling the shots at Wrexham, with another step down that path set to be taken after returning to the Football League ranks for the first time in 15 years.