Rangers and Celtic feature positive showings in UEFA finance report | Football Newsnews24

Rangers and Celtic have shown growth among the top clubs in Europe in a new financial report issued by UEFA, which also reveals that Scotland has seen positive movement in a number of areas.

UEFA’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape Report, published on Thursday, is labelled as the “ultimate guide to the European football finances” in a foreword to the report from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

And it has revealed some positive results for both sides of the Old Firm, with Celtic revealed to be among the top 20 clubs in Europe for kit and merchandising sales, and in the top 10 for pre-tax profits listed among the continent’s clubs.

Rangers meanwhile, are among the top 20 clubs in Europe for gate revenue through 2024, with the club seeing a remarkable 47 per cent rise in this kind of income over the past five years.

Scottish clubs as a whole have also enjoyed some growth in areas including TV revenue, gate receipts and total revenue.

Celtic in largest pre-tax profits list

Celtic are among the top 10 clubs in Europe in terms of largest pre-tax profits recorded in 2024.

The Parkhead club recorded a pre-tax profit of €21m (£17.6m) for 2024 which does represent a drop from the 2023 figure of €47m (£39.3m), but Celtic still find themselves seventh in the list alongside last year’s Europa League winners Atalanta.

Bayern Munich lead the way in this list, recording a pre-tax profit of €63m (£52.7m) for the calendar year, one of four Bundesliga sides in the top 10.

Celtic’s strong player trading model is undoubtedly a factor in their healthy financial figures for 2024, with back-to-back Champions League campaigns and sales of players such as Matt O’Riley, whose summer move to Brighton set a new record transfer fee received by a Scottish club, which previously stood at £25m following Jota’s move from Celtic to Al Ittihad in 2023.

Rangers in top 20 for gate revenue

Rangers find themselves among the top 20 clubs in Europe for gate revenue over the past year, with the figure generated in 2024 reaching €53m (£44.4m), the same as Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

They would have some way to go to match top earners Real Madrid at €185m (£155m) but the figures are impressive, with UEFA reporting an 11 per cent growth in gate revenue in 2024 across Europe.

While they have actually dropped a place in UEFA’s list to 19, that figure represents a substantial jump from 2019’s number of €36m (£30.1m), a 47 per cent increase. Indeed, in 2014 Rangers recorded gate revenues of €15m (£12.6m), with the past decade showing a stark increase.

In that five-year time period Rangers have continued to re-establish themselves as a force in Europe, with former manager Steven Gerrard taking the club back into the group stage of the Europa League in his first season in charge in 2018.

Since then Rangers have been a regular fixture in the latter stages of European competition, with 2022’s run to the Europa League final in Seville under Giovanni van Bronckhorst undoubtedly playing a part in seeing gate revenue take a jump over the past five years, with extra matches at Ibrox helping that revenue grow.

Away from Europe, Rangers have sought to increase stadium capacity, improve hospitality experiences and have consistently sold out their season ticket allocation over the past decade. The construction of New Edmiston House, which holds the Rangers museum, a club shop and hosts a fanzone on matchdays, will also play a part in increasing gate revenues through the season.

The UEFA report said: “Gate revenues continue to grow, with general crowds up six percent on pre-pandemic levels and premium seating driving ticketing growth. Dutch, Swiss, Belgian and Scottish clubs are the next highest earners outside of the big five leagues.

“Clubs based in major cities tend to have higher basic and premium ticket prices, reflected in a yield per fan of just above or below €100 (£83.72) at five clubs.”

Celtic in top 20 in Europe for kit sales

Celtic also sit in the top 20 across Europe for kit and merchandising revenue, with the club recording revenue of €35m (£29.3m) in this department for 2024.

Again, Celtic saw a strong growth over a five-year period from 2019, with a €14m (£11.7m) jump in kit and merchandising revenues since then.

Continued domestic success and the start of a five-year kit deal with Adidas in 2020 will have undoubtedly helped to boost these figures.

Real Madrid are way out in front of everyone on the list, with their 2024 kit and merchandising revenue sitting at €196m (£164m), with Celtic sitting 17th in the top 20, just behind both Milan clubs, with that figure of €35m (£29.3m) accounting for 24 per cent of the club’s total revenue for the year.

UEFA’s report said: “Clubs are increasingly benefitting from their global fanbases and a greater commercial focus. For the top 20, merchandising revenues increased 26 per cent and kit manufacturer deals six per cent in 2024 to reach a combined €1.8bn (£1.5bn).”

Scotland sees positive TV revenue growth

Scotland as a whole has also seen some positive results across 2024.

Domestic TV revenue saw a 20 per cent increase on 2022’s figures, with a €32m (£26.8m) total seeing Scotland placed 16th across Europe.

The country’s total revenue for clubs of €357m (£299m) represents a 14 per cent increase, placing Scotland 11th overall throughout the continent.

Scotland was also seventh in terms of gate receipts, with €130m (£109m) across 2024 ensuring an increase of 4.3 per cent from 2022, with Scottish clubs showing a total net equity of €269m (£225.2m), with only two clubs having negative equity.

The country did rank No1 throughout the whole of Europe in one field, with 100 per cent of clubs in private ownership.