When news broke that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were interested in purchasing Wrexham AFC, there was a huge buzz in the then-town.
Fast forward two years, with an official takeover complete, a number of big money transfers, heartbreak in the playoffs, and the airing of a documentary, it's fair to say the pair have had a pretty big impact.
The Hollywood duo have put Wrexham on the map, with their docuseries attracting a global audience and generating a huge surge in merchandise sales for the club.
The differences since they took over are clear to see for most Wrexham fans or residents, there is real hope and excitement about the football club, after a number of bleak years.
READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds thanks Wrexham community for sharing 'incredible story' in documentary
The main challenge for Ryan and Rob is to get Wrexham back into the Football League, however, what they have done in the meantime is staggering.
American businessman and investing expert, Joe Pompliano, highlighted the size of the impact the pair have had on the club in a Twitter thread that went viral.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney paid $2.5 million for the world's third-oldest football club.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 13, 2022
But the team is in the 5th division of the English football pyramid and has almost no chance of making it to the Premier League.
Still, it was a genius move.
Here's why 👇 pic.twitter.com/BC5JQ7quIg
The post has amassed close to 126,000 likes on Twitter since he posted it on Thursday.
During this, he describes the takeover as a 'genius move'.
Pompliano, discusses the initial purchase of the club, the zoom meeting, and the Racecourse lease, before going into detail on the Welcome to Wrexham impact.
READ MORE: Welcome to Wrexham to return for a second season says Rob McElhenney
He notes the significant change in social media followers, with Twitter: 45k to 209k (+364%), Instagram: 27k to 208k (+670%), and TikTok: 0 to 459k.
As a result of the increased interest, he also mentions the rise in season ticket sales, which rose from 2,609 in 2019 to close to 7,000 this year.
The impact is summarised by the fact Wrexham's game against Blyth Spartans in the FA Cup this afternoon is being broadcast by ESPN, meaning it will be available in close to 100m homes globally.
Pompliano finished by saying: "This is the perfect example of someone taking a local sports asset and using strategic marketing and creative media to make it global.
"But this didn't just benefit Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — it benefited Wrexham AFC fans too. And that's the best part."
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