Simon Jordan reacts to Rangers takeover update as ‘worthless’ admission made
Rangers being eyed up for a takeover by 49ers Enterprises led to a damning verdict from Simon Jordan on the whole of Scottish football.
News broke on Wednesday that the US-based consortium – affiliated with the San Francisco 49ers NFL team and majority owners of Leeds United – have set their sights on Ibrox with takeover talks held.
The 49ers are interested in claiming a majority stake at Rangers with a view to taking total control in Govan, with Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe directly involved in discussions as their main backer.
Rangers’ financial woes, particularly when compared to arch-rivals Celtic in the Premiership landscape, are well-documented, but a cash injection from the 49ers could be a game-changer for Scottish football.
Simon Jordan slams state of SPFL amid Rangers takeover news
Speaking on talkSPORT with Jim White (20 February, 11:53am), Simon Jordan made clear that while Rangers are an asset worth investing millions in, the same can’t be said for their competitors in Scotland.
Jordan said: “Rangers’ market cap is not reflective of their value – their market cap is £17.5million, that’s not reflective of the value that someone’s going to have to buy into Rangers.
“Scottish football is worthless, but Rangers and Celtic are not, and I don’t mean that disrespectfully – the broadcast deals tell you that.
“These guys are not coming in because they happen to love this part of the UK – in this case Scotland – it’s because Rangers represent commercial opportunities.
“Because of the brand, size and scale of this club, not because of the Scottish Premiership, and because they’re capable of competing in Europe and attracting the benefit of European football.”
| Scottish Premiership Club | SPFL Prize Money Revenue Distribution (2024) |
| Celtic | £4.51million |
| Rangers | £3.23m |
| Hearts | £2.78m |
| Kilmarnock | £2.44m |
| St. Mirren | £2.27m |
| Dundee | £2.1m |
| Aberdeen | £1.93m |
| Hibernian | £1.85m |
| Motherwell | £1.77m |
| St. Johnstone | £1.68m |
| Ross County | £1.60m |
| Livingston | £1.51m |
49ers Enterprises takeover can Rangers back to the top
Jordan is spot-on in his assessment that regardless of how far the Gers slip behind Celtic in terms of their current finances, the Old Firm clubs remain Scotland’s big two by a signifcant distance.
Though Aberdeen threatened to upset the established order in this season’s Premiership by winning their first seven games as the Light Blues floundered, their form has massively fallen off since.
From beating Rangers 2-1 at Pittodrie to put them at arm’s length in the early-season Premiership race, Aberdeen now sit a whopping 18 points behind them in the season, re-establishing a two-horse race.
That race, however, is all-but over from Rangers’ perspective, as they themselves lie 13 points behind Celtic at the summit; barring a sensational collapse from the Hoops, the title is as good as theirs already.
Rangers, however, can bring themselves back onto a level playing field if 49ers Enterprises’ takeover is completed in the near future, putting them back at the top of the parapet and competing for silverware.
It remains to be seen how soon a cash injection from 49ers would see a bright new era take shape at Ibrox, but with ambitions still high amongst an expectant fanbase, they’ll need to hit the ground running.