Tom Brady believes Birmingham must keep up with the spending of Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to compete with their Championship rivals.
Birmingham beat Wrexham to the League One title last season, but it is the Welsh club who have splashed the cash ahead of the new season with six summer signings and Wales striker Nathan Broadhead reportedly set to join the Red Dragons in a record club £7.5million transfer from Ipswich.
“We’ve got to (keep spending),” NFL quarterback great and Birmingham shareholder Brady told The Sports Agents podcast.
“We’ve got to keep up with one another. Wrexham have, I’d say, done an incredible job. I mean, you can’t be anything but excited about what they’ve done for that club… I’m so impressed by Wrexham.
“What they do on the pitch, off the pitch, and again, they’re in a great position to succeed as well.”
Asked about the rivalry in a fixture that has been dubbed the ‘Hollywood Derby’, Brady said: “We’re going to talk a lot of smack in the meantime between all of us, because it’s pretty fun theatre, and I think there’s some little friendly side bets going on.
“But make no mistake, the people who are going to decide the fate of those games are the players wearing those jerseys.”
Brady made 10 Super Bowl appearances and had seven victories – both individual records – in a storied 23-year NFL career between 2000 and 2022.
The 47-year-old admits he would love to bring the Super Bowl to Birmingham once the club’s new 62,000-seater stadium is built in Bordesley Green.
He said: “That would be pretty amazing. I don’t make all those decisions. I’m not sure how much I can influence those decisions.
“But I think that my partner, Tom Wagner (Birmingham chairman), is an incredible man, incredible businessman.
“He has huge ambitions for the club, and I would never bet against anything that he tries to accomplish.”
Former Celtic and Tottenham coach Chris Davies steered Birmingham to League One glory with a record 111 points from 46 games.
The previous season Birmingham were relegated to the third tier for the first time in 29 years, with former England captain Wayne Rooney having been sacked in January after just 15 matches in charge.
Brady said: “I think that’s a very natural part of a growth process, that you are going to face adversities along the way.
“When I look back at those years, I’m very proud of what we accomplished because of what we overcame.
“Whatever happened two years ago or a year ago makes really no impact on where we’re at now.
“I think this club has a great manager. The expectations and standards have been set at a different level, and we’re going into this Championship season with great excitement.
“We want to restore it (Birmingham) to the glory that it’s been in the past. To move up and to be promoted to the Premier League is a very daunting task, but it can be achieved.”
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