Rangers to hit Champions League jackpot IF they win title as Celtic pay price for Euro woes in major shake-up

The last time both Celtic and Rangers competed in the Champions League in the same season in 22/23, Celtic earned around €30m from participation while Rangers only earned around €20m – despite Celtic only picking up only two points more than Rangers’ zero.

This was attributable to the distribution of funds through the 10-year coefficient, as Rangers had the second lowest 10-year ranking in the tournament and so received only €2.3m; while Celtic, even with the eighth lowest ranking, still received a huge €9.1m. Should both qualify for the new 36-team league phase next season then this distribution will be markedly different, as UEFA have announced their budget for 2024/25 - following its successful sign-off by the member associations. It seems like we are gearing up for the first genuine title race between the Old Firm in the Scottish Premiership since season 2010/11 when Rangers won the league by one point on the final day of the season.

Of course, for the fans of both sides - the prestige and glory of winning the league trophy far outweighs the financial rewards their club will reap. However, the financial importance of the automatic Champions League place that comes with winning the title cannot be overstated - with the new format bringing more guaranteed money than ever before. With Southampton receiving over £100m in TV money for finishing bottom in the EPL, our top sides are heavily dependent on Champions League qualification to narrow the economic gap between themselves and most other European Leagues.

Celtic have been a financially very well-run club for years and had more cash in the bank - £72million - than almost all English Premier League clubs. However even they are well aware of the impact of not making