Rangers’ conquerors Malmö have secured a major financial boost by successfully qualifying for the Champions League group stages.
Despite being ranked below Rangers in the UEFA club coefficient, the Swedish champions knocked the Light Blues out in QR3.
Steven Gerrard’s side only performed for 45 minutes of the two-leg tie and the Scandinavian club triumphed 4-2 on aggregate.
As a reward, they were drawn against PFC Ludogorets in the playoff round.
The Bulgarian champions had pulled off an upset of their own to reach that stage, dumping out Greek champions Olympiacos in QR3.
Yet, when the two sides went head to head in their playoff, it was Malmö who emerged victorious.
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side won the first leg 2-0 at the Eleda Stadion and although they were defeated in Razgrad on Tuesday night, the 2-1 scoreline ensured they still progressed with a 3-2 aggregate win.
Reaching the group stages guarantees Malmö £13.64m [Scottish Sun], while they will also now be eligible for performance-related bonuses which are much more substantial than those available in the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
Their qualification will be a tough one to take for Rangers, who know that if they had performed anywhere near their best in QR3, it could have been them.
The Gers know that a draw against Alashkert in Yerevan on Thursday would be enough to see them qualify for the Europa League proper, but positive tests have rocked the camp ahead of the fixture.
