Questions have been asked about how sustainable Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's financial backing of Wrexham is long-term. The Hollywood stars completed their takeover of the Welsh team in February 2021, immediately putting in $2.6million after buying the club.
Under the stewardship of head coach Phil Parkinson, Wrexham has won two promotions from the National League (fifth tier) and League Two (fourth tier). Now they're eyeing another from League One (third tier). According to Celebrity Net Worth, Reynolds and McElhenney aren't exactly struggling for cash, touting a joint net worth of $400m thanks to their silver screen earnings and smart business investments.
But with Wrexham potentially on the cusp of the Championship (second tier), there's talk regarding the longevity of the actors' financial impact at the club. The duo have not been shy about their ambition to take Wrexham into the Premier League (top tier) - a league where billionaires are the norm, rather than multimillionaires.
Ex-Premier League forward Darren Bent sparked the conversation during a chat on the talkSPORT radio station about the League One promotion battle.
The former frontman for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and England said: "I know they're worth loads, like 400million, but when does that become not enough? 400million in real life terms is a ridiculous amount of money, like stupid wealth. If they get to the Championship then all of a sudden 400million is still doable, but in the Premier League it's nothing."
He added: "I hope they don't do that (sell the club) after getting them all the way up, because how are they going to survive without them?". Reynolds and McElhenney have already been working to bolster the club's financial health after recruiting new minority investors last October.
Previously, the Allyn family from New York held ownership of the global medical device firm Welch Allyn until its 2015 sale, which reportedly went for over $2billion. Their arrival at Wrexham has seen several substantial cash injections, including a fresh $18.5million share issue announced this month.
The popularity boost from the 'Welcome to Wrexham' docuseries has also played a part in increasing the club’s coffers and achieving heavyweight sponsorship deals, like those with United Airlines and Meta Quest. However, talkSPORT's Andy Goldstein has voiced the opinion that Reynolds and McElhenney might still fancy cashing out for a large profit on their initial outlay.
He said "It's all about profit. How much did they buy Wrexham for? I'm guessing it's nowhere near the amount it's worth now if they get into the Championship. If they make 300million each over five years then I could see it happening."
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Estimates on the potential earnings from selling Wrexham vary, with a Bloomberg report suggesting the club's value has skyrocketed to an eye-watering $130m – marking a 4,900% increase from what Reynolds and McElhenney originally paid. On the flip side, football finance expert Kieran Maguire places the value at a more modest $26m to $39m, but that's assuming the Hollywood duo remains involved.
Back in November, the University of Liverpool lecturer said: "Wrexham are in a unique position because the owners are a bigger brand than the club itself. I've not seen anything like that before, but Ipswich did leverage a wee bit off the Ed Sheeran factor.
"He's been their sponsor and he's added something to merchandise sales with their shirts. Could you get £20m or £30m? Only, in my view, if Reynolds and McElhenney are involved."
Wrexham is currently sitting pretty in third place in League One, neck and neck on points with Wycombe in second, but trailing behind on goal difference. Parkinson's squad is gearing up for a pivotal match this Saturday, squaring off against fellow promotion hopefuls Stockport at the Racecourse Ground.
