‘What the Wrexham fans have to understand…’ – Keith Wyness in new attack at shock deal
Wrexham are still facing questions over their latest deals to help them push through their stadium redevelopment plans.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who thinks Wrexham are setting a “bad precedent” for the game.
Wrexham have been handed non-repayable grants from the Welsh Government to use towards building a new Kop Stand.
US company Apollo Sports Capital then took out a minority stake in Wrexham, who are also the owners of Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
Wrexham going down a ‘very dangerous path’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes a “big problem” could be developing at Wrexham.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness has given his verdict on the latest at the Welsh club.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I think what the Wrexham fans have got to understand is that the question I’m putting out here is why would a football club privately owned get this?
“Because it sets a precedent that other clubs are going to be fighting against, and it’s going to open up a huge can of worms in football and that’s the big problem when they could have resolved this quite easily. As I say with the access that the owners have now to funding and there’s rumours that Apollo are looking at trying to build a bigger facility around the or financing a bigger facility around the stadium with new revenue streams etc. It just doesn’t make sense when they could have easily borrowed money from that capability.
“So to me it raises more questions than answers. And I just think it’s a very dangerous path for any club to go down in terms of getting government funding. Given the present economic climate, you know, we’re talking about, you know, child benefits and, you know, the poverty issues, et cetera, to see 18 million pounds go to a private club when you’ve got wealthy owners with access to very big private equity.
“I just think it sets a bad precedent and I think there are still questions to be asked about that for Wrexham.”
Red Dragons have Premier League ambition
Wrexham have been valued at £350million, with American stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac having owned the club since 2021.
The owners have ambitions to get Wrexham to the Premier League, having overseen their rise from the National League to the Championship.
Wrexham are currently 15th in the Championship table, six points off the final play-off spot and 14 points off automatic promotion.