Wrexham, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, defeated Boreham Wood 3-1, ensuring their return to the Football League for the next season. This will be their first season in league football after last playing in in fifteen years ago.
The Red Dragons have earned automatic promotion from the National League to League Two with one game remaining thanks to the important three points they earned on Saturday. Some days before, they had performed a great miracle to keep their title hopes alive by beating second-placed Notts County.
In November 2020, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney and Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds purchased Wrexham.
More than 10,000 people attended, with Rob and Reynolds in the stands including fellow actor Paul Rudd. Paul surprised the fans by paying a visit to the adjacent Turf bar.
Social media users posted videos of the actors hugging while an emotional McElhenney appeared to be wiping tears from his eyes following the final whistle.
What did Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney say?
Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, admitted to being “a little speechless” after the game, while McElhenney claimed it had been the “honor” of his life.
Rob McElhenney was in tears watching Wrexham secure promotion and win their first league title in 45 years 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/SPrwvKggEm
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 22, 2023
Reynolds spoke after the game to BT Sport: “One thing that’s running through my head over and over again is people said at the beginning: ‘Why Wrexham, why Wrexham?’ this is exactly why Wrexham. What’s happening right now is why.”
McElhenney also spoke, “I think we can hear how it feels to the town and that’s what’s most important to us.”
The Prince of Wales congratulated the team on their victory and wrote on the Kensington Royal Twitter account:
“Congratulations @Wrexham_AFC! A club with such amazing history, looking forward to a very exciting future back in the Football League. Doing Wales proud. W.”
Congratulations @Wrexham_AFC! A club with such amazing history, looking forward to a very exciting future back in the Football League. Doing Wales proud. W https://t.co/VGdF6GkFVw
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) April 22, 2023
Wrexham and their rise to global fame
The third-oldest football club in the world has expanded its fan base globally since being acquired for $2.5 million (£2 million) in 2021.
Welcome To Wrexham, an FX documentary that debuted on Disney+ in the UK, examines the club’s new beginning with the transition to its new management. The documentary brought the club to global fame. They have now acquired more than one million followers on their social media platforms.
The Wrexham story is INSANE:
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 22, 2023
• Bought for $2.5M
• Produced docu-series on FX
• Added 1M+ social media followers
• Tripled season ticket purchases
• Signed sponsorships with TikTok, Expedia, etc.
And now they've been promoted back to the EFL for the first time in 15 years. pic.twitter.com/fwEtELDovF
Wrexham has surpassed the budget and expenditure of their other National League opponents. According to sources, more than £10 million has been invested in completely revamping the club. They have also signed sponsorship deals with TikTok and Expedia.
In an effort to entice attackers Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin away from Football League teams, the team has seen significant investment in transfer fees and wages, as well as enhanced training facilities with the construction of a new performance gym on the grounds of the stadium. All of these have tripled their season ticket purchases.
The team has one more regular-season game against Torquay before taking on Manchester United in a pre-season friendly in July in San Diego.
