Finance expert namedrops Lionel Messi in Wrexham AFC claim | OneFootball

Wrexham AFC have been linked with Lionel Messi by finance expert Dr Rob Wilson.

The Red Dragons have been throwing their weight around for a while when it comes to finances in the lower divisions of English football.

Thanks to their Hollywood ownership, Wrexham have been able to pump a lot of money into improving their team and their stadium, and this has eventually led to back-to-back promotions for the club, taking them from the National League to League One in the space of two seasons.

A large part of this success has been their fiscal power, in comparison to all of their competition. Their financial records from the 2022/23 campaign, when they were in the non-leagues, shows just how out of proportion their spending was in comparison to all the other teams in the surrounding leagues.

This success, and the notoriety of the two owners - actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - has also brought plenty of sponsorship deals and heavy revenue streams, including ones with TikTok and Disney+.

In this regard, there are a lot of similarities between what the Red Dragons are doing, and what Messi's Inter Miami side, in the MLS, are doing, according to the finance expert.

Finance expert makes Wrexham-Inter Miami comparison

Dr Wilson has said that the way that Wrexham have used the likeness and popularity of their owners to boost their success, on and off the pitch, is very similar to what David Beckham has done with his Florida-based team.

"Wrexham have a very similar story to Inter Miami," the financial expert told BonusCodeBets. "It’s different in terms of league and style of player but the story ostensibly is the same and because they're creating a narrative.

"At Inter Miami Beckham created the narrative as a shareholder and has brought in loads of household names led by Lionel Messi which started with Gonzalo Higuain.

"They have gone on to create a narrative that is going to be really compelling, you would say the same about Wrexham.

"It's a town on the up as a consequence of the football team, those narratives create interest which creates column inches, which creates finance, which creates sport and performance."

Wrexham's owners nullify the underdog story

If it weren't for Reynolds and McElhenney, and all the attention and money that they have brought to the Racecourse, would the likes of Paul Mullin, who was the top scorer in League Two the season before moving down a league to join them, or James McLean, a solid Championship player, or Ben Tozer, the captain of a League Two winning Cheltenham side, have moved to Wrexham? Probably not.

Regardless of the money that they have spent, the club have still done very well to win back-to-back promotions, because, as their National League rivals from a season ago (Notts County) found out, the fourth tier is no cake-walk.

Teams like Luton are ones who are more naturally associated with that risen from the ashes story

. They were, at one time, in the top league of the country, then fell right down the ladder, before climbing back up again through a sustainable model. That is more of an unlikely comeback tale than that of Wrexham's.

Two promotions in two seasons is always going to be tough, no matter your budget, and Wrexham have done very well to get themselves to their position now.