31 May 2024 , 04:39
443
0
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been given the ultimate praise by the Prince of Wales, following their success at Wrexham since becoming owners of the Welsh team.
Prince William visited Wrexham on St. David's Day earlier this year, and scheduled a meeting with McElhenney at The Turf Pub, a now-famous bar due to hit docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, that is near The Racecourse Ground. There have been some major A-list celebrities attending Wrexham games since Reynolds and McElhenney took over, but Prince William was an extra-special guest.
In unseen footage released on the latest episode of Welcome to Wrexham, the Prince of Wales spoke with McElhenney and thanked him for what he's done for the team, and the impact it's had on the local area. From a purely footballing perspective, he described just what the owners have done for the fans.
"You give so many football fans who's team maybe aren't in the glory days that they want to be in or used to, the hope and the optimism that one day you can be back again," Prince William said to McElhenney. The momentum at Wrexham feels special, and Reynolds and McElhenney have already outlined their Premier League ambitions.
READ MORE: Rob McElhenney makes bold Wrexham prediction despite history being against them
READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney made £400K loss in order to rush temporary Wrexham stand
Premier League odds and betting tips
"Our ultimate goal is to build a sustainable model that will allow us to not only get to the Premier League, but sustain in the Premier League and eventually win the Premier League and be in the Champions League," McElhenney said.
While it may seem ambitious, Wrexham have already climbed two divisions within the last two seasons, meaning if they can repeat that achievement again they'll be playing against the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool on a regular basis. But the real hard work starts now, as the quality is much higher in League 1, and there's another major jump in class should they reach the Championship.
Finances are also a future hurdle, as although Reynolds and McElhenney are multi-millionaires, billions are now needed just to maintain a Premier League club. There were only four teams in the Premier League last season that had owners with a net worth of under £1 billion, and three of those clubs went down. The only exception was Brentford, who have been stabilised by owner Matthew Benham.
Elliot Lee has been a major figure under the new owners and is confident on Premier League success (Jacob King/PA Wire)One of the relegated sides was Luton Town, a team that current Wrexham star Elliot Lee used to play for. He believes that Wrexham should follow their model and emulate their success. "Anything can happen," Lee told the Athletic. “Look at my old club Luton. When I left, I said I wanted a project similar to Luton. I wanted to go up the leagues and Wrexham fitted the bill.
"Of course, you can’t get ahead of yourself. And I’m not saying we will be in the Premier League any time soon. But I am saying we have all the foundations to be a successful club. It has the potential to go all the way, thanks to the backing of the owners and the staff we have here.
"I’ve always said this place reminds me of Luton, in that it’s a great environment to work in every day and people come here to work hard. Special things can happen. I’ve said that since I came here and I know that because of what we had at Luton. Look at them now in the Premier League."