Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been excellent owners for Wrexham and could end up earning the club millions in the coming years.
Since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased the Red Dragons in 2021, they have climbed up two divisions and could well be plying their trade in the Championship next season.
The Hollywood duo plan to rebuild Wrexham’s stadium as well and have backed Phil Parkinson heavily on the transfer front.
Their transfer record has been smashed several times under Rob and Ryan, including twice in August 2024 when they paid out a combined £1.09m for Ollie Rathbone and then Modou Faal.
Now, Reynolds and McElhenney are planning to enter Wrexham into the Welsh League Cup, which will give them a clear path to European football.
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How much Wrexham can earn from Europa Conference League run
If the plan goes ahead, Wrexham will join Swansea City, Newport County, and Cardiff City as EFL sides competing in a rebranded Welsh League Cup.
The winner of that competition will gain entry into the Europa Conference League and there’s a lot of money to be made there.
At present, sides who win the Welsh Cup enter the competition in the qualifying rounds.
As per UEFA, teams entering in the first qualifying round will earn €150k and the money only goes up from there.
| Round | Prize money |
| UECL Q2 | €350k |
| UECL Q3 | €550k |
| UECL play-offs | €750k |
Should Wrexham make it out of the qualifying rounds and into the league phase, they could end up earning millions.
As quoted by UEFA, ‘each of the 36 clubs that qualify for the league phase can expect to receive a league phase allocation of €3.17m, split into a down-payment of €3.05m and a balance of €120k.’
There are then performance-related add-ons, with teams netting €400k for every victory and €133k per draw in the league phase.
If Wrexham go on to qualify for the knockout round play-offs, they would net €200k.
While perhaps unlikely in the near future, making it to the last-16 brings with it €800k, a place in the quarter-final nets €1.3m per club, the semi-final prize fund is €2.5m per club and qualifying for the final brings €4m per club with the winner going on to receive an extra €3m.
Reaction to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney European dream is mixed
While fans are no doubt eager to see their club back competing in Europe, the reaction to Rob and Ryan trying to enter the cup competition has been mixed.
Phil Parkinson supported the idea of Wrexham joining the Welsh League Cup when the news first broke in 2024.
However, Darren Bent made his feelings on Rob and Ryan’s plans very clear this week, with the former Premier League striker not best pleased.
He said: “I don’t think they should be able to back door it into Europe. You’ve made your decision now you’re in the EFL.”