Rangers face potentially their final two Europa League matches of the season against La Liga side Athletic Club.
But that isn’t very optimistic, is it? Rangers actually have a stunning Europa League record and Thursday nights at Ibrox have been special over the last few years.
Rangers showed in 2022 that it is possible to beat the big guns in Europe and progress all the way to the final, so there’s still a smidgen of a chance five games in the competition are left, not two.
The Light Blues reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League in March after beating Fenerbahce across two legs, which ended in a dramatic penalty shootout triumph.
Rangers won 3-1 away in Turkey, but stumbled at home as Fenerbahce won 2-0 on the night. However, Jack Butland’s heroics set up a tasty two-legged tie with Athletic Club.
With that, Rangers added to their guaranteed UEFA prize money this season – but they’ll be looking to add more on Thursday night and in Bilbao for the second leg.
How much have Rangers banked in prize money for far and what could lie in store with progression to the semi-finals? Rangers News have crunched the numbers below.
Rangers Europa League prize money so far
As we’ve mentioned before, UEFA split their prize money into three revenue brackets. That’s the equal participation fee, performance bonuses and the two-tiered value pillar.
Equal participation fee
Rangers earned €4.31m just for taking part in the revamped league phase earlier this season – that is their equal participation fee. It is split into a down payment of €4.14m and a balance of €170k.
Two-tiered value pillar
What Rangers take from UEFA’s two-tiered value pillar, which consists of European and non-European pots, is determined by three elements:
- Scotland’s contribution to UEFA’s media & broadcasting revenue (European part)
- Rangers’ five-year UEFA coefficient ranking (European part)
- Rangers’ 10-year UEFA coefficient ranking (non-European part)
Thanks to the excellent work of Scotland’s Coefficient, Rangers are set to earn €5.58m from the European pot and €1.7m from the non-European pot.
So that’s €7.28m in total from the two-tiered value pillar, although this could potentially fluctuate come the end of the 2024/25 Europa League campaign in May.
Performance bonuses
UEFA rewarded Rangers for their efforts in the Europa League league phase, with every win worth €450k and each draw earning €150k.
Rangers secured victories over Malmo, FCSB, Nice, Union Saint-Gilloise, meaning they raked in €1.8m from four wins. While the draws against Olympiacos and Tottenham Hotspur secured €300k.
Moreover, Rangers banked €2.175m for finishing 8th in the league phase, €1.75m for reaching the last 16 and another €600k for finishing in the top eight of the table.
Rangers got past Fenerbahce in the last 16, so reaching the quarter-finals secured a further €2.5m for the Ibrox giants.
So by adding all of the above together (equal participation fee, two-tiered value pillar and performance bonuses), Rangers have banked €20.715m so far.
Potential prize money vs Athletic Club
This one is quite simple. Rangers will not earn per leg against Athletic Club, but rather if they win the two-legged tie overall.
Progression to the Europa League semi-finals will bank Rangers a cool €4.2m, meaning they can take their total UEFA earnings this season to €24.915m.
Rangers will play either Lyon or Manchester United in the Europa League semi-finals if they can navigate their way past Athletic Club.
