Rangers rated Europe’s most vulnerable club
A new survey of clubs’ income streams claims that Rangers are more vulnerable than any other club in Europe when it comes to financial meltdown as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
And Celtic are rated the second-most likely to take a hit.
Off The Pitch, a digital business media which tracks the finances, ownership and strategy of clubs in the Premier League and Championship down south, has analysed accounts of over 100 clubs across Europe and their findings will stun Old Firm fans.
The Glasgow rivals depend more on match-day income than any others in the study, and that has set alarm bells ringing.
All clubs are facing up to games behind closed doors. Whenever fans are finally allowed into grounds, if social distancing has still to be maintained then crowds will drop.
Every club will take a financial hit, but the Glasgow giants are more exposed to that than their Premiership peers.
The reports states that 67% of Rangers’ total turnover comes from match-day revenue, including sponsorship, corporate hospitality and catering.
Next come Celtic and FC Porto with 45%. To put that into perspective, Premier League minnows Bournemouth – whose Dean Court stadium can hold only 11,349 spectators – take in just 4% of their total income through the turnstiles.
Arsenal, at 17th on the list with 24%, are the only Premier League side in the top 20 of those most likely to be affected by restricted attendances.
Ajax (10th with 29%) and Athletic Bilbao (19th with 23%) are the only other foreign clubs in that group.
Financial expert David Low, who was Fergus McCann’s right-hand man when he saved Celtic from bankruptcy in 1994, believes the figures look especially concerning for Rangers.
“It’s an imperfect storm for them,” said Low. “Scottish clubs’ over-reliance on match-day revenue is a general problem, but Celtic and Rangers also have the two biggest wage bills in this country.
“While Celtic have signed a lucrative new deal with Adidas, Rangers will be having their kits manufactured by new boys Castore, which means that – unlike Celtic – they won’t receive a large advance from them.
“Add to that the fact that Rangers have no credit facilities with any bank,and it’s an unhealthy place for them to be in right now.
“They have no cash or access to cash, and the only way out of that I can see is for their directors to issue even more loans and eventually convert them to equity, which has the effect of further devaluing the worth of the club’s shares.
“Celtic have £35m in the bank and, while they will be impacted by this, the fans who regularly criticise major shareholder, Dermot Desmond, should be careful what they wish for.
“There’s never been a better time for any club to have a genuine billionaire on hand.”