Wrexham, the fourth-tier Welsh team co-owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, took a step toward another promotion with a 2-0 victory over Mansfield on Friday. Talismanic forward Paul Mullin scored both goals — finishing from a cross in the first half and converting a penalty in the 67th minute — before 12,494 fans at the Racecourse Ground stadium.
Quick Read
- Promotion Prospects: Wrexham, co-owned by Ryan Reynolds, edged closer to another promotion with a 2-0 win over Mansfield, maintaining their third position in League Two.
- Match Highlights: Paul Mullin starred by scoring both goals for Wrexham, enhancing their chances for automatic promotion with six games left in the season.
- Ownership Impact: Since Reynolds and McElhenney’s acquisition in 2021, Wrexham has seen significant progress, including a return to the English Football League after a 15-year absence.
- Financial Investment: The Hollywood duo has made substantial loans to the club, now amounting to over $11 million, demonstrating their commitment to Wrexham’s success.
- Documentary Series: “Welcome to Wrexham” has brought the club’s journey and the owners’ experiences into the spotlight, showcasing their venture into soccer club ownership.
The Associated Press has the story:
Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham takes step closer to promotion, beating Mansfield 2-0
Newslooks- WREXHAM, Wales (AP) —
Wrexham, the fourth-tier Welsh team co-owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, took a step toward another promotion with a 2-0 victory over Mansfield on Friday.
Talismanic forward Paul Mullin scored both goals — finishing from a cross in the first half and converting a penalty in the 67th minute — before 12,494 fans at the Racecourse Ground stadium.
Wrexham remains third in League Two tied on points with Mansfield, which is second on goal difference. Stockport beat Forest Green 3-0 to move into first place, one point clear.
The top three teams at the end of the season are automatically promoted and the next four enter a playoff for one last promotion spot. Wrexham has six games remaining.
Wrexham was adrift when Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney bought the little-known club for $2.5 million in 2021.
Last April, they clinched the National League title to get back into the English Football League — the three divisions below the Premier League — for the first time in 15 years.
The Hollywood stars have invested heavily in the club through loans — the club’s financial reports this week show that they’re owed more than $11 million.
Reynolds and McElhenney’s adventures as soccer team owners have been chronicled in their show “Welcome to Wrexham.”
Owning Wrexham is hitting Ryan Reynolds in wallet. Club owes its celebrity owners $11.4M
Owning a soccer club is hitting Ryan Reynolds in the wallet. Wrexham the Welsh team bought by Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney in 2021, released its accounts for the latest financial year on Thursday and reported that the amount owed to celebrities has risen to nearly 9 million pounds ($11.4 million).
Quick Read
- Financial Impact on Reynolds: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s ownership of Wrexham AFC has led to an increase in debts to the celebrities, now totaling nearly £9 million.
- Club’s Financial Performance: Despite an increase in turnover from £6 million to £10.5 million, Wrexham’s losses have also risen to £5.1 million from the previous year’s £2.9 million.
- Acquisition and Progress: Purchased for $2.5 million in 2021, Wrexham has since been promoted to the English Football League and is contending for another promotion to League One.
- Current Standings: Wrexham is currently third in League Two, in a strong position for automatic promotion with an upcoming match against the league leader, Mansfield.
- Investment Justification: The club views the financial losses as necessary investments to expedite Wrexham’s development and potential realization.
- Loan Repayment and Support: There is no immediate pressure to repay the loans, with assurances of further financial support for upcoming capital projects, including expanding the Racecourse Ground stadium.
- Attendance Surge: Since the takeover, attendance at Wrexham matches has more than tripled, with crowds exceeding 10,000, a significant figure for a fourth-tier team.
- Future Financial Outlook: The club anticipates that its financial losses will not recur, expecting income to cover operational costs and turnover to continue growing, partly due to the popularity of the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary and EFL revenues.
The Associated Press has the story:
Owning Wrexham is hitting Ryan Reynolds in wallet. Club owes its celebrity owners $11.4M
Newslooks- (AP)
Owning a soccer club is hitting Ryan Reynolds in the wallet. Wrexham the Welsh team bought by Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney in 2021, released its accounts for the latest financial year on Thursday and reported that the amount owed to celebrities has risen to nearly 9 million pounds ($11.4 million).
That was up from 3.7 million pounds ($4.67 million) from the previous year, ending June 2022.
While the club said turnover rose from nearly 6 million pounds ($7.5 million) to 10.5 million pounds ($13.3 million) and that future prospects are positive, its losses increased to 5.1 million pounds ($6.4 million) from 2.9 million pounds ($3.66 million).
Reynolds and McElhenney purchased Wrexham, one of the world’s oldest soccer teams, for $2.5 million while the club was in the fifth tier of the English game.
It has since been promoted to the English Football League and is bidding for back-to-back promotions, which would take the team to third-tier League One.
Wrexham is third in League Two heading into a home game against leader Mansfield on Friday. The top three teams at the end of the season are automatically promoted and the next four enter a playoff for one last promotion spot. Wrexham is three points above fourth-place MK Dons with a game in hand.
Wrexham said the club’s losses were “deemed necessary to allow the club to maximize its full potential in the shortest time practically possible.”
“The club is under no immediate pressure to repay these loans at the expense of the progress we seek to achieve,” Wrexham said, “and further financial support will be provided/secured to support the capital expenditure projects the club is currently planning.”
Those projects include increasing the capacity of its Racecourse Ground stadium. Wrexham is regularly getting crowds of more than 10,000 spectators, more than three times the number attending before the takeover and a remarkable figure for a fourth-tier team.
“The financial losses suffered by the club since the takeover shouldn’t be repeated,” Wrexham said, “with income generated by the club now sufficient to meet the operational costs of the club going forward.”
Wrexham pointed to the “continued popularity of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’” — the fly-on-the-wall documentary charting the progress of Reynolds and McElhenney as soccer owners — and more money earned in the EFL as reasons to predict that turnover will carry on growing.
