How Chelsea and Abramovich paved the way for Wrexham

In simple terms, a significant financial investment has achieved success on the field.

Wrexham have strengthened their first team with important signings. Striker Paul Mullen (currently on loan at Bradford City), scored 38 goals as he helped end the club’s 15-year stay in the National League as champions in 2023.

Beating out competition for experienced players such as Steven Fletcher and James McLean is partly down to the large wages on offer. This season, Wrexham broke their transfer record by signing Nathan Broadhead from Ipswich Town in a deal worth up to £10m.

However, just as Chelsea had John Terry, at the heart of the project is defender Max Cleworth.

“You saw in the last transfer window, going from League One to the Championship, we brought in 13 new players, right? Which is a massive change,” Wrexham chief executive Michael Williamson told BBC Sport at the FT Business of Football Summit.

“People say: ‘Oh, you had a transfer market where your net spend was £30m’. Well, that’s because we didn’t have any players we could sell. Norwich probably spent as much, if not more, but they also sold a lot of players – same with Ipswich.”

“Max Cleworth was playing for us in the National League and now he has the most minutes for our club in the Championship. So it’s about building the foundation and then adding the complements.”

Not everyone likes to miss out on a transfer – former Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge called on UEFA to regulate spending, while Gareth Ainsworth, then Shrewsbury Town manager, said it was “not fair” to compete with Wrexham because of “all the money they have”.

As Abramovich’s book showed, spending must come at all levels – and quickly. Chelsea moved from a second-tier training ground at Harlington, shared with Imperial College, to a modern facility, invested heavily in their academy and women’s team, and made two attempts to redevelop Stamford Bridge under its previous owner.

Meanwhile, Wrexham run a Category Three academy but are aiming to reach Category One.

Their women’s team is also receiving increased investment, moving to semi-professional status and competing for the Welsh League title after beating rivals Cardiff City in the Welsh League Cup. They also bought them the stadium.

Chelsea’s visit also reveals the pressures of Wrexham’s rapid growth, with around 250 media representatives expected to attend – a figure far higher than the usual 80 at Championship matches.

Williamson added: “If we get to the Premier League, there are things we have to do in other stands in terms of broadcasting, building TV bridges and providing media spaces.” “This will be the next type of infrastructure investment.”

Only three stands will remain open at the 10,600-seat Stok Cae Ras stadium until the new Kop stand opens next April, taking its capacity to more than 18,000.

“The Kop Pavilion will feature new amenities, fan engagement areas and a distinctive city and club design,” Williamson said.

The upcoming ‘North Star’ in Wrexham, according to Williamson, will host matches as part of the UK’s bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup. This will require capacity to be expanded further to around 24,000.

Williamson also highlights that even after going from 40 to 150 permanent staff in five years, he still has to help with jobs such as transporting boxes of football jerseys, which are now being sold in the US for the first time.