Rangers in line for £50m+ windfall at Celtic expense, Manchester United and Barcelona now set to miss out
Rangers could be set to land a £50million-plus windfall should they reach the knockout rounds of the Europa League, according to journalist Martin Lipton.
In his column for the print edition of The Sun on Thursday (26 October, page 49), Lipton reported that Rangers are in contention to qualify for the first edition of the expanded Club World Cup in 2025.
Lipton reports that the Champions League winners from 2021 to this season will automatically book their places in the tournament, alongside eight teams from the four-year coefficient list.
That is based on European results and, with only one club per country qualifying via that means, the Gers will be in line to qualify should they advance through this season’s Europa League knockouts.
It also means the likes of Manchester United, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and indeed Celtic will miss out unless they win the Champions League.
Pressure’s on
This is an exciting development, but one that seems quite complicated on the face of it.
As things stand, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and whoever wins this season’s Champions League will compete in the tournament, which is described as the “biggest ever” in club football.
That part is straightforward enough, but the other competitors will be based on UEFA’s coefficient list, which is constantly changing.
As Lipton points out, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Roma, Villarreal, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Ajax and Rangers are currently on course to qualify as a reward for positive European results in recent years.
However, Rangers risk being pipped by Salzburg, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk and Slavia Prague if they suffer an early exit from the Europa League.
Basically, then, Philippe Clement must ensure the Gers finish above two of Sparta Prague, Aris Limassol and Real Betis in order to make it to the last 16.
With all three sides in Group C currently locked on three points, it is likely it will go down to the wire. If there was not already enough pressure, there could be a £50m weight on the players’ shoulders come matchday six.
In other Rangers news, some advice given by Michael Beale may influence one of Clement’s selection decisions against Sparta Prague.