Rangers have been handed a pot one Europa League safety net ahead of next season as the financial scale of the club’s Euro run reportedly hits £50m.
The Gers’ disappointing Scottish Premiership campaign means they will have to navigate two sets of qualifiers in order to reach European football’s elite competition.
These will two very tough matches and dependent on the draw Rangers could find themselves up against it to earn a place in the Champions League.
It still sticks in the craw that the Ibrox side’s immense work in Europe over the last four seasons stands to benefit Celtic and the club’s shortcomings in this regard have not been forgotten by the fanbase.
There is also an expectation that the club make a proper fist of it in Champions League qualification this season after last season’s Malmo balls-up.
But if the club fail to qualify for the tournament through the qualifiers then they will be guaranteed at least Europa League group stage football next season.
More than that, Rangers will be in pot one if they drop down into the Europa League.
This means Rangers will share a pot with the likes of Man Utd, AS Roma, Arsenal, Lazio and Braga.
We don’t need to tell you that this is a considerable boost which means that Rangers can properly budget for the season ahead, knowing they are at least guaranteed to bank the Europa League cash.
Europa League run generates Champions League-esque Rangers cash boost
Qualification for the Champions League is worth considerably more and this is evidenced by the fact missing out on the tournament was offset by the Europa League run last season.
Managing director Stewart Robertson confirmed that the run to the Final in Seville, where the club was defeated on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt, had finally topped group stage Champions League qualification, believed to be worth between £30m and £40m.
And now the Scottish Daily Express has gone one further and claimed that Rangers’ Euro exploits have smashed even even that out the park and raked in £50m for the Gers.
Ahead of what promises to be a big summer for Rangers in the transfer window, guaranteed Europa League football and the cash boost from last season’s run will surely bolster the club’s transfer coffers.
Rangers have stood still for the last two windows by not spending a penny, something which has allowed Celtic to catch up.
Now is the time for the board to back Gio and given the financial and European success the Dutch coach brought to the club this summer expectation is rising.
Meanwhile, a former Rangers star claims that a seemingly exit bound Ibrox star actually wants to stay.