“As I gathered more and more information. I realised how expensive it was going to be.
"I have TV money, but … I needed movie star money. More than that, I needed superhero movie star money. … I would need alcohol baron money and mobile phone services money and what other companies does this b**** have? Cybersecurity money.”
So says Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney during one episode of the opening series of Welcome to Wrexham, as he casts his mind back to the moment he realised he was going to need some help if he was to finance his ambitions to buy Wrexham AFC.
Enter Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds. The rest, as they say, is history.
The pair have overseen a huge overhaul at the world's third-oldest football club, and after missing out in painful circumstances last term, they are finally on the brink of delivering a promotion that will end a 15-year exile from the EFL.
As McElhenney so eloquently alludes to in the hit docuseries, Reynolds is a man who's dipped his finger in a fair number of pies, with his diverse portfolio of business interests netting him millions of dollars in revenue.
According to celebritynetworth.com, the 46-year-old currently has a net worth of $350 million (£281 million), supplementing a glittering Hollywood career with a number of side hustles.
On screen, he's had a fair share of box office smashes, including Deadpool, which grossed more than $780 million (£627 million) worldwide, and sequel Deadpool 2, which took more than $688 million (£553 million).
Other successful movies include National Lampoon's Van Wilder, The Proposal and Safe House.
But perhaps his best role has come in the boardroom. Indeed, it's his skills as an entrepreneur and investor that have really helped bulk up the bank balance.
In 2018 he bought a stake (believed to be around 20 per cent) in Portland-based Aviation Gin, turning it into a recognised brand on both sides of the Atlantic.
The company was bought by drinks giant Diageo in 2020, in a deal that could be worth as much as $610million (£49million) depending on sales. Reynolds and co-owners Davos have already received an upfront payment of $335 million (£269 million) in the sale, and the actor still has what's been described as an "ongoing ownership interest" in the brand.
Such a venture is success enough on its own, but Reynolds arguably topped it earlier this year by selling his stake (again, believed to be around 20 per cent) in telecoms firm Mint Mobile to T-Mobile, who bought the company in a deal worth $1.35bn.
The move bagged Reynolds more than $300m.
Reynolds also has stakes in Canadian wealth management service Wealthsimple and password management software 1Password, but has a little interest in slowing down it seems.
His most recent move was to purchase a stake in Canadian fintech company, Nuvei, which went through earlier this month.
"I know about as much about fintech as I did about gin or mobile a few years ago," Reynolds said in a statement at the time. "The leadership team is exceedingly intelligent and hard-working and it’s about time a Canadian company got the type of attention American tech companies do."
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Could there be more to come?
Speculation over a possible bid for Canadian NHL franchise the Ottawa Senators appears to be building momentum, with Reynolds rumoured to be teaming up with Ontario developer Remington Group with a view to a possible purchase that could be worth around $800m.
Reynolds will certainly be emboldened to explore more opportunities in professional sport following the success at Wrexham, although his time at the club hasn't exactly been a money-spinner.
In fact, in their latest accounts, Reynolds and co-owner McElhenney were revealed to have lost nearly £3m in the year following their takeover.
However, the pair have pledged to keep up their investment, and the near-fivefold increase in turnover is certainly a big positive. Indeed, promotion to the EFL will surely give greater confidence that the club can continue to exploit the fresh and exciting revenue streams Reynolds and his partner bring to the table.
But they may yet have to do things a little different if/when they eventually reach League Two, with the club having to navigate rules around Financial Fair Play.
One would like to think such considerations are in hand, but there are a few things that already stand out.
For example, under rules set out by the EFL, clubs cannot spend more than 50 per cent of their turnover on player costs, a guideline that could already have an impact.
Wrexham's exact turnover, according to latest accounts, stands at £5.972m, while the amount spent on players clocked in at £3.940m, representing an increase of 294% from £1.340m in the previous period.
There are caveats here, of course, the main one being that transforming a football club for the better in such a short space of time isn't exactly cheap.
But in League Two, those figures would potentially fall foul of the rules, so the club may well have to think a little differently when building a squad for the EFL. Then again, given the recent record of co-owner Reynolds, one would think the club's finances are in good hands.
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