Callum O'Connell

Mon 22 January 2024 9:40, UK

Once again the question has been asked of where Rangers and Celtic would finish in the Premier League given the abundance of resources, and Kieran Maguire has given a new verdict on that question.

The football finance expert compared the matchday revenue of the Scottish giants to the Big Six Premier League clubs and concluded that they fall behind the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

He also shared that in the first-ever Premier League season, Rangers had the second-highest revenue in the United Kingdom, providing some context to where they could have gone with Premier League money.

Speaking on The Price Of Football podcast [22 January], Maguire shared: “If we go back to the very first season of the Premier League, Rangers had the second-highest level of revenue of any club in the U.K. So apart from Manchester United, they earned more money than Arsenal, Liverpool and so on.

“If we take a look at Celtic in that season, their revenues were higher than those of both Chelsea and Manchester City who have been the most successful clubs over the last couple of years or so – with Liverpool of course.

“If we look at the position now, Celtic are making just short of £50million per year from matchday income, Rangers are making around £40million. That includes European income. Where does that put them compared to the Big Six? It puts them a wee bit behind.

“The matchday income is significantly behind that of Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool, it’s a little bit behind Chelsea and mid-way behind Manchester City, so those clubs [Rangers and Celtic] would be similar to West Ham and Newcastle – the top end of the other 14 in terms of their revenue.

“I refer to some of our secret chief executives and friends in the English game to say what are the chances of this ever taking place, and those chances are zero, or close to zero. From the perspective of those Big Six clubs, they don’t want competition.”

All hypotheticals, but the result would be clear

There is almost no doubt that, if Rangers and Celtic were in the Premier League, with Premier League income, they would be challenging for a top-four place.

While the squads may not be capable of competing as they are – as English fans like to bring up whenever this debate comes up – a couple of years with the TV revenue and money available to the clubs in that division would take both Old Firm clubs to new levels in terms of their size.

That’s why, as Maguire shares, the clubs in England would not want this situation to take place. Regardless of the logistics of it and whether it would be possible, it would never be explored as it puts the positions of the bigger English clubs under threat.

It’s a fun debate to entertain and one that starts again every year or so, but in terms of revenue they are already competitive, so adding the TV money on top of that would allow both Old Firm clubs to thrive in England and compete towards the top.

In other Rangers news, Diomande is set for further talks after his medical.

For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.