Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have set Wrexham on a path to success, with another promotion potentially just weeks away.
Easter is just around the corner, and that means another league season is coming to an end for Wrexham.
The end of the season has brought promotion pushes for Wrexham fans, and that is the case again this season.
Wrexham sit second in the League One table, three points clear of third place after Wycombe Wanderers beat Huddersfield Town.
Phil Parkinson is potentially just five games away from achieving a third straight promotion, masterminding the rise at the STōK Cae Ras.
Wrexham may take another step forward under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds with their 2021 takeover continuing to reap rewards.
The sporting bug has certainly bitten McElhenney and Reynolds over the years, so let’s dig into their other investments alongside Wrexham.
Club Necaxa
After enjoying great success with Wrexham, April 2024 saw McElhenney and Reynolds invest in Club Necaxa.
A US group featuring Mesut Ozil, Eva Longoria and Kate Upton, among others, had already purchased 50% of Necaxa in 2021.
That group took a small stake in Wrexham in 2024, with McElhenney and Reynolds returning the favour.
The Mexican league is split into two rounds, the Apertura and Clausura – the ‘opening’ and ‘closing’ phases.
Necaxa finished 13th in the Apertura, winning just three of 17 games to pick up only 15 points.
The Clausura stage is bringing a little more success, with Necaxa now fourth in the table with nine wins from 14.
A documentary series similar to ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ will soon hit screens, named ‘Bienvenidos a Necaxa’.
The Hollywood duo only have a minority stake, but McElhenney visited Necaxa in March as he watched a 2-0 victory over Queretaro.
La Equidad
McElhenney and Reynolds added another club to their portfolio earlier this year.
After starting in Wales and then heading to Mexico, Colombia became the latest stop for McElhenney and Reynolds.
McElhenney and Reynolds invested in La Equidad, striking a deal worth around £24.5million.
Longoria and Upton were again involved, with La Equidad now hoping to see their fortunes change.
La Equidad finished 12th in the Categoria Primera A in 2024, and the celebrity investment will hopefully see them rise.
Nicknamed ‘Aseguradores’ – ‘Insurers’ – La Equidad were founded by an insurance company based in Bogota.
That move may seem a little random, but so did Wrexham back in 2021 – and we know how successful that venture has been.
Alpine F1
McElhenney and Reynolds haven’t limited themselves just to football.
2023 saw the duo become involved in F1 team Alpine Racing, joining an investor group who purchased a 24% stake in the team.
The deal cost around £171million, according to the Daily Mail, but it was suggested that McElhenney and Reynolds didn’t actually put money in and would contribute through their fame and storytelling.
More celebrities have followed in investing in Alpine Racing, including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Rory McIlroy and Anthony Joshua.
That is quite the list of celebrities, but it hasn’t really brought too much success, with Alpine finishing sixth in the F1 World Constructors’ Championship in 2024.
Australian Jack Doohan and Frenchman Pierre Gasly are racing for Alpine in 2025 but have yet to register a point between them in the first three weeks of the season.
Welsh Fire – the ‘almost’ investment
There was one deal in mind earlier this season which didn’t quite come off.
McElhenney and Reynolds made contact to invest in cricket as they explored a deal for Welsh Fire, a franchise in The Hundred tournament.
Welsh sport has been so important to McElhenney and Reynolds in recent years, and they were seemingly keen to turn to cricket.
“It is a feasible option. Contact’s been made,” said Welsh Fire chief executive Dan Cherry, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“There’s not been anything substantial come back yet, but we’re in the process and I know that they’ll certainly be included in any process that we’ve got going forward,” he added.
In the end, the owners of Major League Cricket franchise Washington Freedom secured a deal worth around £40million for 49% of the team.
BBC Sport claim that McElhenney and Reynolds chose not to enter a formal bidding process after making that initial contact.
Perhaps there will be other sports explored in the future, but emulating Wrexham’s success elsewhere will not be easy.