Wrexham AFC’s remarkable transformation and rise under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney began when the Hollywood actors completed their takeover in February 2021. Their £ 2 million investment arrived as the historic Welsh club sat in the National League after 15 painful years outside the English Football League.
The new owners promised ambition, investment and a deeper connection with the Wrexham community in North Wales. They appointed Phil Parkinson as manager and recruited proven goalscorer Paul Mullin from Cambridge United, who became the marquee player in the club’s rise.
However, success was not immediate. Wrexham finished second in the 2021/22 National League but suffered a dramatic 5-4 play-off semi-final defeat against Grimsby Town. Days earlier, they had also lost the FA Trophy final to Bromley at Wembley. Those setbacks provided the first major disappointment of the Reynolds and McElhenney era.
Wrexham responded spectacularly during the 2022/23 season. Phil Parkinson’s side accumulated a record-breaking 111 points, scored 116 league goals and defeated title rivals Notts County in an unforgettable 3-2 contest at the STōK Cae Ras. Wrexham secured promotion with a 3-1 victory over Boreham Wood, ending its long exile from the Football League.
That momentum continued in League Two. Wrexham secured automatic promotion on the first attempt in 2023/24, completing consecutive promotions and reaching League One. Another outstanding campaign followed as the Red Dragons finished second in 2024/25, achieving a historic third successive promotion and returning to the Championship for the first time since 1982.
Wrexham then finished seventh in their first Championship season, narrowly missing the play-offs and an opportunity to challenge for Premier League promotion. Fans, players and pundits were all very vocal about their excitement as they saw the Red Dragons have the opportunity to compete in the Premier League for the first time in the club's history.
The award-winning television series Welcome to Wrexham documented the rise. First released in 2022, the programme combined football drama with stories about supporters, players and the wider community. It introduced Wrexham to a worldwide audience and became an Emmy-winning success, with the series renewed through 2029. The series is a huge hit in the United States of America, which has seen Wrexham tour the country during several pre-seasons, a far cry from where Wrexham had been visiting 5 years ago.
There have obviously not been all positive moments; there have also been some difficult ones, including play-off heartbreak, injuries, and financial expectations and departures. Mullin, who scored 110 goals in 172 appearances, left in 2026 after playing an unforgettable role across all three promotions.
Yet Wrexham’s progress remains one of football’s most extraordinary modern stories. Reynolds and McElhenney have transformed a struggling non-league side, lost on and off the field, into a globally recognised Championship club without losing sight of its history, supporters, or Welsh identity. All they need now is to secure Premier League football to complete the ultimate Hollywood ending.
