The eye-watering Celtic cash boost as Rangers count cost of Champions League failure

Rangers are counting the cost of missing out on the Champions League after humiliation in Holland – and rivals Celtic are rubbing their hands at the Ibrox side’s failure to make it to European football’s top table.

That’s because last season’s Treble winners can look to bank an eye-watering £17MILLION more than the Ibrox side before a ball has even been kicked in their respective European competitions with the Hoops total boosted by the fact the Light Blues have dropped into the Europa League. Last season the bitter Glasgow rivals shared the 10 per cent split of the UK total pool figure, which was around £57m. While Celtic got marginally more as Scottish Premiership champions, it was almost a 50-50 split. But as Scotland’s sole representatives this season, the Parkhead club will bank that fee.

The Europa League has long been regarded by leading clubs as a poor relation to the far more lucrative Champions League and it’s in the TV revenue where that is illustrated most. Rangers will pocked around just £600,000 from Europa League TV revenue. UEFA do at least write them a cheque for just over £4m in a parachute payment for reaching the playoff round of the Champions League but failing to reach the group stage. That underlines the importance of the victory over Servette in the third qualifier.

And the Ibrox board can expect to make £3m from Europa League group stage participation - but Celtic will earn just over FOUR TIMES more from the Champions League. The Hoops also earn significantly more from their higher 10-year coefficient ranking. All this, of course, is before you factor in the difference in pounds for points where in the Champions League it’s over £2m for a win and just short of £1m for a point, while in the Europa