The £120m gap Celtic must close against Atletico as nine figure Madrid downgrade fails to ease Champions League reality

Celtic have faced a brutal Champions League group stage campaign so far as they look to get their first points of the campaign on matchday three.

But it looks to be the toughest test so far as top seeds Atletico Madrid arrive at Celtic Park and look to push for the knockout stages. Captain Koke will lead out a star-studded team packed with the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata to face the Scottish champions with Brendan Rodgers needing a big performance to stun the in-from La Liga heavweights.

But Celtic will also have to bridge a massive financial gap if they are to overcome the odds – despite the latest stats showing that the squad valuation of Diego Simeone's side has dropped massively in the past 12 months. At the start of the 2022/23 campaign the Atleti squad was valued an an eye-watering €391million (£340m) but the latest figures from Tranfermarkt show a drop to €253million (£220m) this season.

Matheus Cunha and Yannick Carrasco were big-money exits last summer, while rising star Joao Felix also left in a loan move to Barcelona. The incoming stars were more modest, however, with Griezmann's move from Barcelona made permanent while defender Samu Omorodion joined from Alaves. This has all contributed to the shake up and reduction on the overall squad price.

However, it will provide little comfort for Rodgers and Celtic supporters with their squad valued at the lowest in Group E. While the Scottish champions are used to holding the financial advantage over their league rivals, the squad is valued at €121.25m (£104m) by Transfermarkt – a gap of a whopping £106m.

The valuations elsewhere in the group don't make much better reading as the Parkhead outfit close in on the midway point of the group stage