Wrexham's eye-watering agent fees emerge as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrate promotion

Wrexham's eye-watering agent fees have emerged days after they secured promotion to League One.

Wrexham's meteoric rise under Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney continued on Sunday as the club sealed promotion with a 6-0 thrashing of Forest Green Rovers.

The Welsh side secured a long-awaited return to the Football League last season, and next term they will play in the third tier after a 19-year absence.

Achieving back-to-back promotions is no mean feat, especially as it has never happened before in the club's 159-year history.

That said, the financial backing Wrexham have received from Reynolds and McElhenney has certainly helped make the seemingly impossible, possible.

Since the duo took over the club in 2020, Wrexham have recruited a number of players from teams in higher divisions, and have paid them unusually high wages for their level.

Now, the staggering agent fees that Wrexham have spent have emerged, and go some way to showing the gulf in resources between the Red Dragons and the other clubs in League Two.

Data published by the Football Association shows that between February 1, 2023 and February 1, 2024, Wrexham spent £347,027 on intermediaries and agents' fees.

Wrexham secured their second promotion in successive seasons on Saturday (Getty)

The next biggest spenders were Forest Green Rovers, who spent £266,191. Stockport County, who look set to beat Wrexham to the League Two title, spent over £200,000 less than their rivals.

Wrexham's outlay on agent fees during that period was more than 18 of the 24 clubs in League One, the league above.

After promotion was secured, Reynolds wrote on X: "A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in north Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney.

"Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime.

"Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives."

McElhenney posted on Instagram: "I don't know if I have the words.

"The passion and perseverance that these players have is incredible to watch."

Topics: Wrexham, Football, League One, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, League Two

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton