 "Ryan Reynolds' golden touch: Why the Hollywood star’s football club is nearing 7,400% valuation surge")
Two Hollywood stars buying a football club and turning it into a winning machine sounds like the script of a thrilling movie — but Wrexham AFC has become living proof that stardom, when channelled properly, can lead to success both on the pitch and in business.
The Welsh football club Wrexham AFC are co-owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The football club was worth $2.5 million (approximately £2 million at the time) in 2021, as that is what the movie stars paid to buy the club. But it could now soon be worth at least $207 million (£150 million).
How Wrexham became a financial giant under Reynolds?
Why and how?
Get ready for a story that is nothing less than a fairy tale.
Wrexham were at their bottommost in 2020 when they finished 19th in the National League, which is the fifth tier of English football. Bottommost because this was the club’s worst finish in its 150-year history. To add more context, there were 112 clubs ahead of them across five divisions.
Just when it looked like the plug would be pulled on Wrexham, Reynolds, known for playing the role of Deadpool, and McElhenney bought the club in 2021 for reportedly $2.5 million.
This is where the redemption began.
Reynolds is one of the most popular actors not only in Hollywood but in the world. McElhenney is known for his role in the sitcom It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. When they joined Wrexham, the press became interested in covering the club and the celebrities wanted to be associated with the team.
This resulted in money flowing into the system as tickets sold like hot cakes, sponsorship deals became easy to land and global media coverage was guaranteed and consistent.
This money was used to sign better players, improve the training infrastructure and develop the working environment at the club. While fellow clubs struggled to keep up, Wrexham have scripted an unprecedented rise, securing three back-to-back promotions. This is the first time an English club has achieved three consecutive promotions since 1888.
A 3-0 win against Charlton Athletic at STōK Cae Ras on Saturday ensured that Phil Parkinson-coached Wrexham will be playing in the EFL Championship next season, which is the second division in English footballing structure and only behind the Premier League.
Wrexham’s valuation set to rise 7,400%
Co-owner Reynolds now wants the Premier League for Wrexham.
“Our goal is to make it to the Premier League,” Reynolds said. “It just seemed like an impossible dream [when buying the club in February 2021], but as storytellers, you look as much as you can at the macro view of history.
“I would not be here, you can go all the way back from the Gresford [coal mine] Disaster to [club legend] Mickey Thomas, who is a huge point of aspiration for this club and the goal was to reach that feeling – and it is a feeling.”
This massive achievement could also see the valuation of Wrexham rise an astonishing 7,400% from the time the Hollywood actors invested in the club.
They were valued at around $134 million (£100m) in March 2025 by Bloomberg before the promotion was confirmed. But football finance expert Kieran Maguire feels the brand power of the owners and the proximity to the Premier League will see the valuation swell.
“I suspect promotion was factored into the original valuation to a degree, but with the brand connection to the owners and now being 46 games away from the Premier League, that could add on another 50% to the value,” Maguire told BBC Sport.
“Ipswich were valued at £100m in February 2024 (before their promotion to the Premier League that May) so a good start to the season could push Wrexham above that by 50% or more due to the Ryan and Rob factor.”
Factors like better pay for media rights and sponsorship deals are some of the reasons that can lead to a quick rise in the valuation. If Reynolds can manage another documentary on the club like the US TV-produced Welcome To Wrexham in 2022, the valuation can jump even higher.
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