Rangers have hit their head on Scottish glass ceiling despite £86.8m AGM reveal
Rangers are looking financially comfortable after the club’s AGM revealed revenues of £86.8million, but that amount is still dwarfed by the Premier League.
Ten years on from the disastrous administration in 2012, Gers are looking cosy when it comes to money. The club held their AGM on Tuesday and director Kenny Barclay revealed the good news.
Rangers’ revenue has risen from £59million in 2020 to an impressive £86.8million in 2022 [Glasgow Live]. As a result, Barclay announced: “For the first time in 10 years, auditors are comfortable with the club’s ability to pay its bills on a day-to-day basis. That represents massive progress.”
The increase in revenue is likely down to Rangers’ superb run in the Europa League under Giovanni van Bronckhorst. On top of that, the club will have been handsomely rewarded for their Champions League qualification – regardless of how the tournament panned out.
However, despite the club’s continental success and UEFA cash injection, Barclay also revealed a worrying comparison between the revenue of Rangers and the income of Norwich City – who were relegated from the Premier League after finishing rock bottom without any continental football.
The Canaries brought in £134million regardless of their failed Premier League campaign. Norwich had no cup run to boast about or any European aid.
The huge difference between the income of the two clubs shows the stark contrast between the finances of the Premier League and the struggles of the Scottish Premiership.
With Rangers unlikely to match their 2022 revenue without another impressive European campaign, the Glaswegian club have no option other than to accept the financial shackles that come with being a Scottish club.
Van Bronckhorst spoke openly about Rangers not being able to compete with Champions League powerhouses this season [Daily Mail], and while the Dutchman came under fire for his comments – he may have a point.
Rangers have hit the financial glass ceiling that is limiting the success of Scottish clubs. The Scottish Premiership finds itself lightyears behind the likes of the Premier League when it comes to broadcasting and marketing and without further investment and development from the Scottish FA it will only fall further and further behind.
In other Rangers news, Michael Beale gets a ‘huge’ round of applause at the Rangers AGM after Douglas Park’s speech