Save income, transfers, skepticism
© Imago
With a convincing 3-0 against Charlton Athletic, AFC Wrexham obtained the third series promotion last weekend and will participate in the second class championship next year. Since the two stars of Hollywood Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney have taken over the 2020 club, he worked fifth in the second division. However, you don’t meet Welsh everywhere. The transfers market highlights the « Hollywood Club », explains the background and also examines the criticisms of the AFC path.
According to the media, Reynolds and Mcelhenney paid 2.3 million euros for Wrexham. « Bloomberg » estimated the association in March with 116 million euros, which corresponds to an increase of 4,900%. At the end of March, the Welsh club published its annual financial report and declared an increase in sales of 12.2 million euros in 2022/23 to 31.1 million euros in 2023/24. « Wrexham reached recorders’ income last year and, as a fourth division club, has more money than many teams in League three. This is mainly due to the brand that the club has accumulated and the interest that comes from the United States, » explains Ben Littlemore, UK content director at (Site notre blog d’information).
Thanks to the presence of owners’ social media and the documentary « Welcome to Wrexham », the club quickly gained popularity in fifth division. Economically, the association now has a clear advantage even without additional money. The annual « Deloitte » (Site notre bureau spécialisé) financing report shows that the 24 teams in the third class in Ligue 1 implement an average of 11.3 million euros. If you hang on to the five largest clubs in the championship, sales of second division clubs represent an average of 25 million euros. So Wrexham is not only well above the Onee League teams, but also has more income than a large part of the next opponents. « The association has made intelligent decisions and hired the right people in the club’s hierarchy, » said Littlemore.
Wrexham transfer policy: compulsory Upper Ligen players
The championship of the fifth national class of 2022/23 followed a second place in League two and in Ligue 1. In 2023/24, Wrexham had the highest expenses of the fourth division with 390,000 euros, 2024/25 with 4.96 million euros per third – but as the club did not sell players, Birmingham had a lower balance. Financial expert Kieran Maguire estimates that the Hollywood duo has invested in the club since the takeover between 18 million and 24 million euros, or around 5.9 million euros in transfer fees.
According to recent financial results of the association, the salary budget was 8.12 million euros this season and, according to « BBC », was greater than the average of 8 million euros. It was therefore possible to force professionals not to go to a club in size. « Due to the fame of the two owners, the club receives more media presence and offers players the possibility of being much more perceived in Wrexham than with other teams of the same league, » explains Littlemore. Professionals like Jay Rodríguez, Steven Fletcher and James McClean, who finished much more than 100 Premier League games, changed for Wrexham.
In scouting, Wrexham mainly looks at the leagues above theirs. In 2020/21, there were six superior playing professionals and a graduate of the Premier League Academy in Wales. Over the next two years, 17 superior leagues players were signed. During the time of the national league, the transfers focused on the players of the Ligue two, after the climb, the accent was put on League one and at the start of this season, there were four new arrivals from the championship. Record access is Sam Smith, who came from reading in January for 2.4 million euros.
Wrexham review: « currently one of the most unpopular clubs »
With a squad value of 13.3 million euros, Wrexham has the most precious team in Ligue 1 in Huddersfield and Birmingham. The most important players include Altars James McClean and Steven Fletcher, midfielder Ollie Rathbone and the newcomer Smith. With 34 goals in 45 games, Wrexham places the second best defense of the League, which is mainly due to the central defender Max Cleworth and Eoghan O’Connell as well as at goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo. Cleworth has been in the Wrexham team since 2020 and is one of the best scorers with seven goals, Okonkwo comes from the youth of Arsenal and has acquired first division experience in Sturm Graz. Coach Phil Parkinson has been in power since July 2021 and has been authorized to celebrate the three ascents with the club.
But the Wrexham project also supports criticisms due to financial possibilities and a rapid increase. « In the lower leagues, only a few fans like Wrexham. They do not like them to receive and they accuse them of buying the ascents. I would say that Wrexham is currently one of the most unpopular clubs of the fans of the championship, the one and the League two, » explains Littlemore. The ambitions are great: shortly after the ascent, we asked Parkinson if Kevin de Bruyne or Jamie Vardy could find their way to Wrexham. « We haven’t really talked about anything yet. We have always kept an eye on players who are free and are available, » he replied. An expansion of the stadium is also a subject in Wrexham. The Stōk CAE RAS currently offers a space at 13,341 spectators, but MCELHENNEY is already thinking about how he said in an interview with « Collider »: « We think we could welcome between 45,000 and 55,000 people. »
In summer, Wrexham needs reinforcements to be able to follow the championship after the third rise in series. During the celebrations around the ascent, the Premier League was always a problem at least in the media, but the Littlemore expert is paying attention to this kind forecast: « I think that in the first season, it is to survive in the first season. But with the continuous financial support and the feeling that the participation of the Hollywood star will bring with it will probably not last long.