Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney Have Lost 'Loads' of Money in Wrexham Investment
Three years ago, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney joined forces to buy Wrexham Association Football Club, the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest of its kind in the world. The docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, now in its second season on FX, chronicles their journey from acquiring the team in 2020 to the joys and pitfalls of being football club owners today.
In the Oct. 31 episode of the show, Reynolds and McElhenney learned just how much they were financially bleeding after their ownership investment. "Let’s talk about how much money we’re losing," McElhenney joked.
Wrexham AFC executive director Humphrey Ker simply told the actors they've lost "loads" of money. Reynolds wanted the cold, hard truth, asking him to "quantify loads for us."
Wrexham Advisor to the Board Shaun Harvey gave it to them straight. Their losses were estimated to be more than £10 million, equaling more than $12 million. Reynolds, for his part, was honest with his response: "I’m gonna go throw up." When the duo was told they would get a lot more money than that if they were to sell the team, McElhenney quipped, "Let’s just say we’re in it for the rest of our lives. At what point do I get paid?"
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Harvey noted in the episode that if Wrexham were promoted to a higher league, it would become a more profitable venture for everyone involved. "The value that’s coming from the global appeal we’ve been able to create is going to offset those additional costs that we’ve created," he explained. "The biggest thing that’s going to change on promotion... People can see the value of Welcome to Wrexham. They can see the value of the profile that’s being built. That’s when the additional sponsorship revenue can be generated."
Fast-forward to April 2023 and Wrexham AFC was promoted to the English Football League. That likely means good things for the club's financial future, and the actor duo's investment.
In many ways, Welcome to Wrexham is a more gripping journey than some of Reynolds and McElhenney's past work on screen.