Liverpool lose out on billionaire’s investment to Wrexham

Wrexham director Kaleen Allyn has confirmed her family considered investing in Liverpool before becoming minority shareholders of the soon-to-be Championship side.

Spearheaded by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham recently sealed their third consecutive promotion, confirming second place in the League One standings to earn a spot in the second tier next season.

The Allyns, whose medical device company, Welch Allyn, was sold for $2bn (£1.3bn) in 2015, were part of that latest triumph after investing in the club late last year, with Kaleen confirming Wrexham's story helped convince them to buy in.

"We want to be true partners and get our hands dirty; be part of the story of what's happening. That's the biggest honour."

Wrexham's story has reached international audiences following the takeover by Reynolds and McElhenney, who brought about a popular docu-series, Welcome to Wrexham, to raise the club's global standing.

"We flew Grandpa Bill over because I wanted to kind of show him what it is all about," Allyn said of the final decision to invest in Wrexham.

"By the time it came to go home, he was almost kicking and screaming because he did not want to leave. He said: 'The community of Wrexham is the closest thing I've seen to what we grew up with and what we lost in upstate New York'.

"He went to the match and met Phil [Parkinson], who was very gracious. My grandfather had watched Welcome to Wrexham. He was completely starstruck. He doesn't really give a damn who Ryan Reynolds or Rob McElhenney is. But Phil Parkinson? He wanted his picture with Phil and that picture is framed on the wall at his house."

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