Celtic’s financial acumen has been hailed for decades as the Parkhead club sit as Scotland’s richest club.
Celtic are cash-rich and there is no other club in Scotland with the same resources both on and off the pitch at this current moment in time.
A lot of that is to do with Celtic fans pumping in their cash through season ticket sales, buying Adidas merchandise and following the club through thick and thin over the last two and a half decades.
However, much credit has to go to the men in the boardroom like Dermot Desmond, who negotiate deals to ensure Celtic can earn as much money as possible to provide the funds to give to Brendan Rodgers to strengthen the Hoops’ first team.
And it appears that many more millions will be brought to the club after what Celtic supremo Desmond helped organise this summer.
Celtic to bank up to £3m after summer friendly agreement
Celtic have organised pre-season summer friendlies against Cork City, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United, and Como, Sporting Lisbon, and Ajax.
The fixtures will give Rodgers the chance to prepare Celtic for the season ahead and, according to TBR’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content Adam Williams, earn more millions for the Parkhead coffers.
Williams told 67 Hail Hail, “For the clubs with the biggest global brands – your Manchester Uniteds, your Real Madrids – a pre-season tour in the right commercial market can be worth £10-15m in total revenue.
“As far as Celtic are concerned, they don’t report how much they make from pre-season tours separately from their core matchday and commercial income, but I would hazard a guess that they could maybe get £2-3m net. That’s after costs – it can be phenomenally expensive to organise these tours, after all.
“I think for clubs like Celtic, some tours are focused more on the bottom line and others are more about ‘customer acquisition’, so to speak.
“Last season, they went to the United States. Now, yes, there is a big Scottish and Irish diaspora on the East Coast there, but ultimately not that many Americans have committed to supporting a team yet.
“So by touring the US, you have the chance to convert casuals into fans and fans into fanatics, who you can get into that funnel whereby they might start spending more money on merchandise or Celtic TV.
“So the tour itself might not be as lucrative on a net basis as one in Europe because of costs, but because you’re picking up new ‘customers’ and growing your brand, it’s the cost of doing business.”
Celtic tipped to bank ‘nice fee’ after summer agreement with Como
Whilst £3m may not seem like a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, Williams believes that Celtic are still picking up a ‘nice fee’ for simply competing in pre-season games that needed to be organised either way.
Williams continued, “In Italy, you’re very unlikely to convert new fans. Everyone already has a club there. But costs are lower and, at a destination like Como, you’re probably going to get a nice fee from the promoter.
“With the attractive location, I’d imagine it could well be a place for a kit launch too. I know Adidas place a big emphasis on where they launch their kits.
“The friendly against Cork is smart too. You’ll get a big turnout there and it helps nurture your existing fans on that side of the Irish Sea. Retaining customers is just as important, if not more important, as acquiring them.
“This is the language that commercial departments think in, even if it’s alien to talk about fans as ‘customers’ to you or I.”
For fans, the friendlies will give them the chance to see Kieran Tierney’s second Celtic debut alongside any other additions Rodgers makes to the squad.
For the Celtic manager though he will be less concerned with the money to be made and more interested in ensuring his squad are fit and ready for a tough season ahead.
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