Former Celtic defender Alan Stubbs has reacted to a bizarre Rangers admission that was made live on talkSPORT.
Stubbs spent five years at Celtic Park before he left for Premier League club Everton, fulfilling a childhood dream.
The English defender moved to the Hoops for a staggering £4million, making him their record signing at the time.
Alan Stubbs reacts to Ben Foster’s comments on Rangers and Celtic
Ben Foster is known for his bizarre footballing takes since his retirement from the professional game.
Usually, he keeps his commentary to his podcast, but he was invited on talkSPORT for his comments on the Scottish game.
As someone who has not played league football in Scotland, he may not be the most qualified to speak about the country’s two biggest sides.
He claimed that if Rangers and Celtic were English sides, the squads they have would not be able to secure promotion to the Premier League from the English Championship.
Foster asserted that while he does not see them getting relegated either, he believes that they will struggle against mid-table sides in the second tier.
He said: “If you put Rangers and Celtic into the Championship today, the team that Celtic have and the team that Rangers have today, they won’t get relegated, but they are definitely not getting promoted from the Championship.
“If you looked at budgets and the amount of wages that players earned, I bet that teams in the Championship, the Millwalls and the Wrexhams are earning more money. Where the money is, is normally where you get the best talent.
“For me, it stands to reason that they would struggle in the Championship.”
Stubbs replied to talkSPORT on Instagram and replied with laughing emojis.
How do the finances of Rangers compare against Championship teams?
While Foster thinks that he is making a good point, the reality is a bit different.
There are some of the top-tier Championship sides that generate higher revenues, a lot of which is also down to the fact that they are yo-yo clubs and benefit from parachute payments post relegation.
Rangers have competed in the Champions League recently and regularly participate in the Europa League, which draws in a decent amount of revenue.
Three or four of the top Championship sides generate anything between £120m and £170m in revenue, including parachute payments.
Most of the second-tier teams get between £25m and £35m, as there are no parachute payments and the EFL broadcasting deal is not the best.
Rangers, on the other hand, boast excellent matchday revenue of approximately £45m.
This is because Ibrox sees regular 50,000+ sellouts and also has hospitality packages that add to the club’s coffers.
The Gers’ annual revenue was £94.1m, so they would be one of the best in terms of commercial revenue in England’s second tier.
