Wrexham's insane climb up the English football pyramid took another turn when they finished as runners-up in League One last season, promoting them to the Championship - and Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' spending has outshone various major European sides, according to reports, highlighting their desire to reach the Premier League.
Wrexham earned back-to-back-to-back promotions from the National League up to the second-tier, being among the league's biggest spenders along the way, and that has seen them have to massively revamp their squad. However, at the same time, it's seen them have to offload various key players from seasons gone by as a result of their rapid progression.
Report: Wrexham 'Spent More' than Barcelona in Summer Window
Phil Parkinson of Wrexham
The report by the Daily Mail states that the north Welsh outfit began the market looking at plans to 'gradually freshen' their squad, though it morphed into a £32million window that effectively became about total reconstruction of their playing squad.
With that in mind, their eventual net spend was higher than some colossal European sides - particularly Barcelona, but the list extended to the likes of Valencia, Sevilla, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund among others, all of whom have been major players in European competition in the past.
40 percent of clubs in Europe's top five leagues, minus the Premier League, spent less than £10million this summer - though Wrexham spent over three times that amount upon their arrival from League One, and even spent close to that £10million buffer on Wales national team star Nathan Broadhead alone.
Spending £6.5million on Coventry City star Ben Sheaf, as well as £3million on Lewis O'Brien, it shows that the Red Dragons are well on course for their supposed 'two-year plan' to reach the Premier League, having seen their midfield overrun in earlier parts of the campaign.
With that rebuild, it saw them rid of the promotion heroes of the past three years, including club legend Paul Mullin, who departed for Wigan Athletic on loan having spent four years at Wrexham, scoring 110 goals in 172 games. However, only three of those came in League One last season.
Elsewhere, strikers Ollie Palmer, Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher have left the club, as well as long-serving players such as Mark Howard, George Evans and Jacob Mendy, who the Mail deem to have been 'ruthlessly' shipped out. All departures this summer only recouped Wrexham £150,000 in transfer fees, showcasing how quickly they have risen through the leagues.
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