Credit: @vancityreynolds Instagram
Five years ago today, Wrexham Supporters Trust members voted overwhelmingly to approve Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s takeover bid. The Hollywood duo promised to turn a fifth-tier club into a “global force” and most people outside North Wales laughed at the idea.
Nobody is laughing now. The promises made on November 16, 2020 have not just been fulfilled. They have been exceeded in ways that seemed impossible when Wrexham were stuck in the National League with crowds of 4,000.
Reynolds and McElhenney spoke about global ambition, documentary plans, and treating Wrexham like Manchester United. Five years later, the club sits in the Championship after three successive promotions. Every single promise has been delivered.
The vote was overwhelming and the promises were bold
The numbers tell the story of how much faith Wrexham fans placed in two Hollywood actors they had never met. A total of 98.6% of WST members backed the takeover, with 1,809 voting in favour, just 26 against and nine abstentions.
The 91.5% turnout from more than 2,000 eligible voters showed how seriously the fanbase took this decision. They needed a 75% approval threshold and they smashed it.
Reynolds reacted to the result with genuine shock. “We are humbled and we are already getting to work,” he said. “This is really happening.”
McElhenney made a promise that seemed outlandish at the time. “You may never have heard of Wrexham, the Racecourse Ground or Ifor Williams but you will,” he said.
Reynolds went further during his presentation to fans on November 8. “We want to have a pint with the fans,” he said. “You’ll be fed up of us. We want to be great ambassadors for the club, to introduce the club to the world and be a global force.”
McElhenney outlined the scale of their ambition. “We should be thinking about Wrexham the way Manchester United thinks about Manchester United,” he said.
The takeover promised £2m of investment into a club that had been fan owned since 2011. A Netflix-style documentary was planned to chart the journey. These were bold claims from men with no football experience.
Five years later the evidence speaks for itself
McElhenney said the world would hear of Wrexham. He was right. The club has become a global phenomenon with fans on every continent following their journey through the English football pyramid.
The documentary became Welcome to Wrexham, an Emmy-winning series that has run for multiple seasons. It did not just chart the journey. It made millions of people care about a club they had never heard of.
Reynolds said fans would be fed up of seeing him at the Racecourse Ground. He and McElhenney have attended dozens of games, celebrated promotions on the pitch, and become genuine supporters rather than distant investors.
The £2m investment was just the beginning. The club has spent millions on players, facilities, and infrastructure. The squad that won promotion to the Championship would have been unthinkable in 2020.
Embed from Getty ImagesThree successive promotions have taken Wrexham from the fifth tier to the second tier of English football. They are competing in the Championship for the first time since 1982. The “global force” is no longer a fantasy.
The Wrexham Supporters Trust wished Reynolds and McElhenney “the very best of luck” and said they “look forward to what the future brings.” Five years on, that future has arrived. The fans took a leap of faith on November 16, 2020, and the Hollywood owners have repaid them in full.
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