Wrexham took a big gamble when preparing for the 2024/25 League One season, which has paid off.
The Red Dragons’ campaign came to an end on May 3 with a win over Lincoln City.
Wrexham ended on 92 points, an EFL-high tally for the club and, of course, won promotion out of League One.
The Welsh side will now play in the Championship for the first time since it was rebranded in the early 2000s.
However, things could have been very different right now had Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds made one decision differently in 2024.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney agreed to £50m Wrexham gamble
Season 4 of Welcome to Wrexham aired for the first time in the United States on Thursday night, and the first two episodes are now available to UK fans on Disney+.
During Episode 1 of the new season, a meeting between McElhenney, Reynolds, Michael Williamson, Shaun Harvey, and a finance expert took place.
In the Zoom call, the club’s potential expenditure for the 2024/25 campaign was discussed.
It was made clear to Ryan and Rob that if they wished to consolidate their place in League One for a few seasons, their anticipated capital expenditure would be around £1-2m.
However, if they wanted to try and go back-to-back-to-back, that figure would quickly rise to around £50m.
Ryan and Rob then thought about what they wanted to do, with Reynolds responding in emphatic fashion.
He said: “I will never forget when Rob said that our objective is to get to the Premier League when we were in the National League.
“And now we’re in League One, on our way to the Championship. And I just say let’s go for it, let’s ——- do it”.
McElhenney quickly responded: “Oh my god, that is music to my ears. I honestly had no idea which way you were going to go. Historically, you’ve always been the more practical one, but I like it, I like this Ryan. Let’s keep betting on the Town.”
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney on Wrexham reaching Premier League
It was a move that paid off massively, with Wrexham indeed going on to win promotion.
However, there is already talk of the club being promoted out of the Championship and into the Premier League.
McElhenney’s ‘consolidation’ message suggests he wants to go for yet another promotion in 2025/26.
Reynolds backs Wrexham to reach the Premier League as well, though his timeframe for another promotion is much longer.