Rangers slammed for ‘overinvesting’ in Champions League, £13m spend is not the issue
The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell believes Rangers could benefit from a similar club culture to Ajax, where the amount of money spent is not an issue.
Rangers finally ended their Champions League drought this season, but endured a torrid campaign on their return to Europe’s elite competition.
Now officially branded the worst-ever team in the tournament’s group stage, Gers fans have been forced to stop and consider what has gone wrong at Ibrox compared to last season’s Europa League highs.
But while many point towards the club’s lack of spending in the summer, Campbell believes it’s no excuse, and that the club could benefit from Ajax’s way of thinking.
“The club spent the last decade overinvesting with the message being that the end goal is to restore the club to its former financial base in the Champions League but, when they eventually got there, they spent a week briefing out messages to play down the numbers,” Campbell wrote via The Athletic.
“There was fan anger at not spending more than £13million of the £26million brought in this summer through player sales — almost the exact same ratio of reinvestment as Ajax who spent €110million of the €225million they brought in.
“In Amsterdam, there remains a belief that despite their financial limitations, the talent that grows from the central idea running throughout the club can overwhelm super-clubs and state-owned soft powers.”
Not comparable
Rangers and Ajax may have both spent only half of what they received from player sales in the transfer window, but £13million is hardly comparable to the €110million spent by Ajax.
The proportions are the same, but the actual values show the sheer difference in financial power between Rangers and Ajax.
While Gers’ Champions League campaign was obviously disastrous, the club can’t be expected to compete with sides double or triple their value.
Campbell himself points out that “They [Ajax] are the next tier above Rangers as they have double the wage budget”, so while there are obvious comparisons, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Giovanni van Bronckhorst should somehow have his squad compete on the same level.
Rangers do need to improve, and the club needs a clear identity and transfer strategy moving forward. But comparisons to Ajax are too steep and irrelevant.
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