Rangers will be working towards allocating their finances for what is expected to be a busy summer transfer window.
Their spending will hinge on whether or not they will be playing in the Champions League proper.
Rangers winning the league would give them a better chance at making the league phase, although they would still need to go through one round of qualification.
Rangers’ European income £22m shy of Celtic’s Champions League earnings
Rangers failed to qualify for the Champions League last season and featured in the Europa League, where they made it to the quarter-finals.
This saw them generating £18m from UEFA, with the amount including Qualifying Bonus, Value Pillar, League Phase, and League Ranking, as well as Round of 16 and Quarter-finals bonuses.
However, as Celtic featured in the Champions League and got knocked out in the play-off ahead of the Round of 16, they pocketed £22m more.
Breaking down this disparity, Adam Williams, GRV Media’s Head of Finance and Governance Content, exclusively told Rangers News: “£18m isn’t to be sniffed at, but if you look at what Rangers earned with a decent run in the Europa League compared to what Celtic took home in the Champions League, it is night and day. There’s a £22m disparity. Even Tottenham, who won the Europa League, earned less than Celtic in Europe.
“Rangers do benefit from the extra home match in the new European format – and matchday income is just as significant as prize money here. We’ve already got Rangers’ accounts from 2024-25, so we know how the Europa League revenue impacted the finances. They generated an operating loss of £11m that season and were still reliant on their shareholders and loans to fund that deficit.
“The board have said that the model of external financing can’t continue forever. But I think with the work they need to do to get back where they need to be on the pitch, it will go on for some time yet.
“The fact they didn’t even make the play-offs in the Europa this season – as well as the fact that they only got four points, which means they will have had next to no performance bonuses from UEFA – will have a material impact too. They have spent pretty heavily in the transfer market again this season as well, which will have a bearing.“
49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh may put in more money this summer
Even if the Gers overcome the five-point deficit and win the league title, they will need to spend big in the summer.
Celtic will generate more money and Hearts have proven to be canny in the transfer market.
According to Williams, it will come down to the owners, 49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh to potentially open their wallets and fund some new signings.
He added: “So, in terms of whether they have the resources to build a squad capable of competing in the transfer market, it really depends on how generous the owners are feeling – because a big transfer window will require them to open their own wallets rather than relying on the club’s own cash reserves.
“Yes, clubs typically don’t pay for transfers all at once and the extra prize money from playing in the Champions League would allow them to invest in players via instalments, but you also need to be wary of not overpaying and running into a problem when you drop out of the top European competition in future seasons. It’s a delicate balance.”
