Rangers board must hang heads in shame at Ibrox amid latest £17m announcement
The Rangers board should be ashamed of their financial mismanagement at Ibrox as figures reveal the club operated at a £17million loss for the most recent financial year.
Philippe Clement paid the price for the club’s lack of finances in Glasgow throughout the summer, with a sell-to-buy approach thus far backfiring to great effect with the Gers trailing Celtic and Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership by six points.
Rangers released their annual report on Tuesday [29 October], revealing they operated at a £17.2m loss for the 2023 financial year.
Rangers have never felt further behind Celtic and, with the club striving to close the financial gap to compete with their SPFL rivals, seemingly the task will be a long and daunting endeavour.
Rangers need to get a grip of the finances at Ibrox
Within the report, there are signs the club is slowly improving its finances but the reality is that the £17m loss is a stark reminder of where the club is, considering the Gers recorded £252,000 in the red the year prior.
The Light Blues have increased their core revenue to £88m – a £5m increase over the year – but the large operating costs, standing at £110m, are considerably eating away at any profit with staff costs the highest expenditure at £61m, albeit a £3m decrease.
Rangers also paid a nominal fee of £67,000 to the Scottish Football Association to host home matches at Hampden Park throughout the Copland Stand construction. It’s an outlay the supporters will surely consider a complete waste of money as moving away from Ibrox should never have been required.
Clement has endured his fair share of tribulations at Ibrox this year. His side prepare to face Aberdeen in a top-of-the-table clash in the SPFL and the squad is arguably weaker than when he embarked on a squad overhaul before the summer.
Regardless, supporters must come to terms with the reality of the situation at Ibrox – it will take years of shrewd financial decisions for the club to return to a position where they can launch a genuine challenge the multiple silverware.
In other Rangers news, the Gers players will know what to expect at Aberdeen as the club confirms pre-match plans for the clash at Pittodrie.
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