In the 1990s, for example, there was the annual trip to Kingsmeadow to take on Kingstonian. This century, the likes of Oxford United, Reading and Wycombe Wanderers have been repeat opponents.

Rewinding further back to three consecutive summers in the early 1980s, pre-season preparations ramped up in Wales. Exhausted players ran through the dunes on Aberystwyth beach before taking a dip in Cardigan Bay to cool down. We faced a good mix of Welsh opposition before returning to London: Aberystwyth Town, Cardiff City, Newport County and, on Saturday 4 August 1984, Wrexham.

Just 1547 people made it the Racecourse Ground to see the Fourth Division hosts lose 1-0 to John Neal’s Chelsea side, fresh from promotion to the top flight. Neal, once a very successful Wrexham manager, retired at the end of that season having steered Chelsea to an impressive sixth-place finish.

The Red Dragons beat Porto on away goals in the Cup Winners’ Cup before succumbing to Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Roma in the second round. That was about as good as their 1984/85 campaign got, a late rally ensuring they avoided the ignominy of having to apply for re-election to the Football League.

Almost 39 years later, Chelsea and Wrexham are set to meet once more. But how things have changed.

For 1500, read 50,000. For a near-empty Racecourse Ground in north Wales, see a sold-out Kenan Memorial Stadium on the other side of the Atlantic in Raleigh, USA.

The game will be streamed around the world on Chelsea platforms as a new era begins under Mauricio Pochettino. For the Blues, showpiece pre-season fixtures around the world are nothing new. But how did Wrexham, who like in 1984 are preparing for life in England’s fourth tier, get here?

The story begins in late 2020, in the depths of the global pandemic. Having been fan owned for nine years, the Wrexham Supporters Trust agreed to a takeover by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The American duo promised an injection of funds, and a desire to make Wrexham a global force. Less than three years later, it is safe to say they have made good on that wish.

Aided by the hit docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, which focuses on the club’s fortunes as well as that of their fans and the city, the Red Dragons’ notoriety has gone through the roof. In America, Wrexham’s games are regularly among the most popular in terms of viewing figures. At home, the people’s imagination has well and truly been captured.

Success has followed. In the first full season of the ‘McReynolds’ ownership, Wrexham reached the final of the FA Trophy, narrowly beaten by Bromley at Wembley. They fell just short of winning the league, too, Stockport taking that crown, and then they agonisingly lost 5-4 after extra-time to eventual winners Grimsby in the play-off semi-finals.

Wrexham regrouped, and last season allowed no such room for the vagaries of knockout football to affect their promotion push. Under the management of the experienced Phil Parkinson, and with star striker Paul Mullin firing in the goals, they registered an eyewatering 111 points to take the title ahead of nearest challengers Notts County.

An epic 3-2 win against Notts at the Racecourse, crowned by a penalty save by former Watford keeper Ben Foster, made it a very special Easter weekend indeed. Promotion was secured a fortnight later.

It ended a tumultuous decade-and-a-half in the National League, containing play-off heartbreak aplenty and even the club’s lowest league finish in its 158-year history.

Now, though, Wrexham are back where they belong, not that their esteemed owners’ ambitions end here, of course. The Premier League remains the aim. Pre-season fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United this summer have only added to the hype around Wrexham AFC, their A-list owners, their increasingly global fanbase, and what will be in the next chapter - and TV series - of their intriguing tale.

Our first pre-season fixture against Wrexham is free to watch on the Official Chelsea App and website. Kick-off is scheduled for 01:00 Thursday (UK time).