Millions of reasons to celebrate semi-final win
Rangers have guaranteed themselves Uefa prize money of at least £14 million from their remarkable run to the Europa League final – but the rewards could yet get considerably richer for the club.
Even before they defeated RB Leipzig on Thursday night, Rangers were already assured of €12.16m (around £10.4m) in prize money for their progress through the group stage and first three knockout rounds of the tournament in which they overcame Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and Braga.
By reaching the final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville on May 18, the Scottish champions can bank on a worse case scenario of another €4.6m (around £4m) which goes to the runners-up. If they lift the trophy, they will receive an additional €4m (around £3.4m), taking their total Europa League prize money haul to €20.76m (around £17.8m).
But that won’t be the end of the financial bounty Rangers can anticipate if they claim the silverware. It will also see Rangers secure a place in the Uefa Super Cup final in Helsinki on August 10 where they would face the winners of this season’s Champions League, either Liverpool or Real Madrid. Appearance prize money in that showpiece occasion is €3.5m (around £3m) with a further €1.5m (around £1.3m) for the winners of the match.
By far the most significant bonus for Rangers in winning the Europa League, however, would be direct entry to the group stage of next season’s Champions League where they would be placed among the elite Pot 1 clubs in the draw.
That would secure a guaranteed participation fee of €15.64m (around £13.4m) and a further Uefa coefficient ranking payment of €3.6m (around £3.1m), while subsequent results in the group games are worth €2.8m (around £2.4m) per win and €930,000 (around £800,000) per draw. In all, that’s a potential windfall in the region of £33m.
All of those figures are from prize money alone – Rangers’ revenue this season will also have been massively enhanced by ticket sales and commercial income from their Europa League matches at Ibrox.