A report in Football Insider has revealed how important the current Europa League run is to Rangers as they look to minimise the financial damage caused by coronavirus.
Although not quite on the same levels of the Champions League, the second tier of European football still represents a sizable percentage of the club’s revenue and with £4.6million already said to be banked, the cost of not qualifying is obvious.
The importance of the domestic campaign overshadowed continental competition for some Rangers fans this season, but without it, the financial burden that the board would have to carry would be even heavier and players such as Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent may have been sold when the interest was there.
In a similar vein, qualifying for the knockout stages could be an even bigger boost with the potential for fans being allowed back into Ibrox by the time they come around however small the number, it would still be worth a lot to the club – every penny helps.
We will also get a share of the TV money paid to Scottish clubs and with two winnable ties in the group stages still to be played, the Europa League should not be treated as a second class citizen, just yet.
In “normal” circumstances the club wouldn’t rely on money from European football to survive, but what it does do is prevent key assets from being sold every season, there may be one or two sold but there would certainly be no need for a fire sale – something we are seeing the benefits of both at home and abroad this season.