Mickey Thomas scored Wrexham's most famous goal when they beat Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup back in 1992. But even he admits that moment might soon be topped by something even bigger.
Why? Because Wrexham could actually be playing Arsenal in the Premier League next season. Yeah, you read that right.
It's been five years since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds completed their £2 million takeover on February 9, 2021. Back then, Wrexham were sitting in seventh place in the National League - the fifth tier of English football. Today, they're in the Championship playoff positions, just three spots away from automatic promotion to the Premier League.
"Wrexham have become a runaway train since Rob and Ryan arrived," Thomas told ESPN. "I've been in football a long time, I've seen everything, but the rise has taken my breath away. It would be the greatest football story ever."
Let's put this in perspective. On takeover day, Wrexham beat Altrincham 2-1 to sit in seventh in the National League. Now they're 73 places higher in the English soccer pyramid. A win against Millwall this Saturday would put them fifth in the Championship.
That's three successive promotions in just five years. No English club has ever done that before in the entire history of the Football League dating back to 1888.
The Man Who Started It All
Phil Parkinson was Wrexham's first major signing as manager in July 2021. He had already achieved miracles with Bradford City, taking them to the EFL Cup final in 2013 and beating Arsenal along the way. But joining a National League club was still a gamble.
"It's always an element of risk because if you drop into the National League as a manager and it doesn't go well, where do you go from there?" Parkinson explained. "But the more I looked into it and spoke to the owners myself, I realized how serious they were."
That seriousness has translated into serious spending. Since 2021, Wrexham have brought in 66 new players for a combined £38.8 million. The club record has been broken multiple times, with Nathan Broadhead arriving for £7.5 million from Ipswich last August.
The rapid evolution has meant some tough decisions. Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer - heroes of those first two promotions - have both moved on. It's been necessary to keep climbing the ladder, but Parkinson says they've tried to handle departures respectfully.
For anyone looking at Championship betting markets, Wrexham's momentum is hard to ignore. They're attracting quality players like George Thomason, who joined from Bolton for £1.2 million, specifically because of the club's upward trajectory and winning culture.
Hollywood Glamour Meets Welsh Grit
The "Welcome to Wrexham" documentary series has turned this Welsh club into a global brand. But their stadium tells a different story - it first hosted football in 1864 and desperately needs upgrading.
Work has started on a new 7,500-capacity Kop Stand designed by Populous, the architects behind Tottenham's stadium and the 2022 World Cup final venue. But it won't be ready until the 2027-28 season. That means if Wrexham reach the Premier League next season, they'll only have 10,500 seats.
CEO Michael Williamson isn't worried though. "There is no road map for this," he said. "To go from the National League all the way to the Premier League in successive promotions is something that no other club in the history of English soccer has done."
The club has grown from 40 permanent employees to over 140 in under 20 months. They've brought in executives from Inter Milan, UEFA, and Inter Miami. They've replaced local sponsors like Ifor Williams Trailers with global giants like United Airlines and Meta Quest.
"There are top-six clubs in the Premier League who would love the brand connection that we have in North America," Williamson added. The commercial possibilities are massive, especially for a club that has never played top-flight football before.
For the Premier League itself, Wrexham's potential arrival is exciting. Most international fans don't know the difference between mid-table clubs, but Wrexham comes with an actual story and a massive American following. That means more viewers, especially in the lucrative U.S. market.
Thomas, who played for Manchester United, sees it everywhere. "I still work for United on matchdays at Old Trafford, but wherever I go, people only ever want to talk to me about Wrexham," he said. "The club is now as big as any Premier League team in the United States."
So is it when, not if, Wrexham reach the Premier League? They're currently in the playoff race with everything to play for. The infrastructure challenges are real, but the momentum is undeniable.
Five years ago, this seemed like a Hollywood fantasy. Now? It might just become reality in less than five months.
