What Rangers spending power could look like after San Francisco 49ers takeover as £50m prophecy faces UEFA hurdle

Rangers could soon be bankrolled by the mega-money behind the San Francisco 49ers - but UEFA rules could have an impact on the spending power in the market.

Record Sport revealed in an blockbuster exclusive that Paraag Marathe and the 49ers are behind a surprise move to takeover the crisis-hit Ibrox side after a US-based consortium has held secret discussions stretching beyond the turn of the year - and those talks are now understood to have reached an advanced stage. Should a multi-million pound investment deal get over the line, a door would be open to a lucrative relationship with the NFL giants - and already has fans dreaming of splashing the cash to bring silverware back to the blue side of Glasgow.

Ibrox icon Graeme Souness has already made it clear how much he thinks should be enough to close the gap on Celtic - insisting that Gers need to splash £50million on up to four quality additions. In the wake of the 3-0 trouncing at the hands of Brendan Rodgers' side at the start of the campaign, the 71-year-old insisted: “Right now, there is gap between Rangers and Celtic, but it’s not insurmountable.

"Three or four quality signings could make the difference, but Rangers don’t have the money right now. If they were to spend £50million, it’d be nip and tuck between the two of them."

But UEFA's financial sustainability rules introduced two years ago could have an impact on Rangers prospective spending power. European football's governing body make compliance a condition of playing in their competitions.

As it stands, clubs face squad-cost controls with spending on player and coach wages, transfers and agents fees is restricted this season to 80 per cent of a club's revenue. However, from the summer this will drop to 70