Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney knew full well they were going to require ample financial resources to take their Wrexham Football Club to the next level following their well-publicized purchase of the club in 2021. They spent $2.5 million on the team, but that was only the tip of the iceberg as the pair sought to outspend rivals and engineer a true Cinderella story for the down-but-not-out Welsh town. Now, new financial filings from Wrexham AFC reported by ESPN and other outlets are revealing the drain on Reynolds and McElhenney's deep pockets, as they're owed some $11.3 million following 2023.
For context, that debt is up from $4.67 million, where it was at the start of the 2023 season. But operating at a loss is a necessity, according to the team's own statement, in order "to allow the club to maximise its full potential in the shortest time practically possible."
That's something that they've already managed to go a long way towards in a shocking amount of time. When Reynolds and McElhenney purchased the team in 2021, they were a fifth-tier team, and they've already earned one promotion and are gunning for two more.
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They've brought an unparalleled level of publicity to the team, as well as some lucrative sponsorships, but that hasn't offset the massive amounts of money they've put into securing talent, with salaries well above those paid by other teams in the National League division. Two of the team's star players, Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer, were reportedly poached from a division two tiers above where Wrexham was competing last year, and it was all thanks to the outsized financial resources provided by the team's celebrity owners. And from the press statement, it doesn't seem like they're putting their own team under any pressure to pay off the debt:
"The Club is under no immediate pressure to repay these loans at the expense of the progress we seek to achieve, and further financial support will be provided/secured to support the capital expenditure projects the Club is currently planning, which includes increasing the capacity of The Racecourse Ground and the development of a training facility for all the Club's teams."
But fortunately for Deadpool and Mac, the club says it expects its efforts to start paying off soon:
"The financial losses suffered by the Club since the takeover shouldn't be repeated, with income generated by the Club now sufficient to meet the operational costs of the Club going forward.
"The year-on-year income comparisons since the takeover show the potential of the Club. These will significantly increase again for the year ending June 30, 2024, following promotion and the continued popularity of 'Welcome to Wrexham.'"
That's the popular documentary series depicting the actors' ownership of the team and the quest to take it all the way to the top of English soccer. That would bring big profits as well, but it seems evident that Reynolds and McElhenney aren't in this game for the money.
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