Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have come under fire for spending big to achieve success at Wrexham.

Gareth Ainsworth, manager of local rivals Shrewsbury Town, has hit out at the Hollywood actors after describing the gap in financial strength between the Red Dragons and teams like his at the bottom of League One as "not fair". Wrexham have invested heavily in their playing squad under the ownership of Reynolds and McElhenney, rising from the National League to the third tier, and are currently battling for yet another promotion.

The North Wales outfit broke the seven-figure barrier for the first time ever during the January transfer window after splashing out on Reading top scorer Sam Smith. However, their riches pale in comparison to League One leaders Birmingham City, who smashed the division's transfer record last summer after paying an eight-figure sum for striker Jay Stansfield from Fulham.

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Despite the presence of other well-backed clubs, Ainsworth chose to have a pop at Wrexham after voicing his annoyance at being unable to compete with them financially. The former Wycombe boss was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport's 72+ EFL podcast while discussing proposals to introduce three promotion and relegation spots between the National League and League Two.

He said: "We keep going on about the teams that are struggling. We should look after our pyramid better. If a team just can't keep up financially for no other reason than the other teams have got billionaires coming in or millionaires, it's not fair that they just sink out of the league and into obscurity. It then becomes all about money.

“Wrexham have only done that because of the money they've had. Of course they're competing well, but they've had billionaire owners in, and it's not fair. I don't think that it should just be about that.

"I'm speaking as an advocate from a club with a local businessman who's put his money in, and he just can't compete with Wrexham, because we're not bringing American billionaires in.

"My argument would be, yes, these teams have done well, but have a look at the money that they've had invested in them as well."

Wrexham and Shrewsbury enjoy a fierce rivalry, with tempers often boiling over in clashes between the two teams. Phil Parkinson's side's promotion hopes took a hit last month when they were beaten 2-1 away by the Shrews.

Four Shrewsbury fans were banned following the derby match after objects were thrown at Wrexham captain James McClean. Stewards stepped in during the second half to separate the former Republic of Ireland international from the home supporters, and the game was briefly paused.

Parkinson later described the level of abuse directed at McClean as excessive and called for more to be done to protect the player, who described Shrewsbury as a "cesspit full of inbreds" in a rant on social media. Wrexham fans have now hit back at Ainsworth's comments after pointing out their own financial woes over the last few decades.

One supporter writing on X, formerly Twitter, said: "Before we were bought out by the 'billionaires' and were getting shafted in the play offs (in the National League), even though we were in second, was it fair then? Or was it fair that we got shafted prior to that by greedy owners who nearly killed us off completely? Instead of moaning play better!"

Someone else posted: "Ah yes, it's Wrexham's fault you're in a relegation battle! If it wasn't for bad owners we'd have never dropped out of the EFL. And if it was three up, three down, we'd have been back in the EFL a lot sooner. Learn your history."

Meanwhile, another fan said: "Why do Wrexham have a target on their back? A £1m record signing isn't much. Huddersfield made a £3.3m signing, Birmingham spent £32m. The character assassination of Wrexham is a disgrace."

The ex-QPR manager was also accused of hypocrisy after praising his former team Wycombe earlier in the same podcast for their recent success. Wanderers are owned by Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadzer, whose wealth puts Reynolds and McElhenney's combined net worth of $400million (£321m) in the shade.