Celtic’s final Champions League group stage game ended in heroic disappointment with a 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa.
Celtic battled back from an early shock after going 2-0 behind in the first five minutes as Hoops striker Adam Idah rattled Aston Villa with a quick-fire double to take both teams in at the break level.
However, it wasn’t enough as Celtic finally succumbed to Aston Villa 4-2 in a thrilling match that has grabbed the overnight headlines.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was proud of his player’s efforts as the Bhoys earned a glamour playoff tie against either Bayern Munich or current Champions League holders, Real Madrid.
As well as rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite, Celtic are going to be rubbing their hands after 67 Hail Hail was told by TBR Football’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content, Adam Williams, how the Parkhead club are in line for record revenue after their Champions League exploits this season.
Celtic set to ‘push’ the barrier of record revenue after Champions League exploits
Williams told 67 Hail Hail, “I think if Celtic can make the knockouts, they could be pushing the £150m barrier in terms of revenue.
“They were at £125m last season and they’ve already earned more prize money in this season’s group stage in terms of performance bonuses.
“This will also be the most lucrative season in Champions League history because of the new format.
We can’t say exactly how much they have earned so far because there are several moving parts with the value pillar, which is based on club and country coefficients as well as the domestic contribution to UEFA’s TV pool.
“Incidentally, Scottish clubs do well from the TV pool because earnings are linked to a percentage of the overall British Champions League media deal, which is the biggest in Europe.”
Celtic set to financially outshine ‘more than a handful’ of English Premier League clubs
With the playoff draw set to take place at lunchtime today, Williams also predicts the revenue that could be heading Celtic’s way if Brendan Rodgers can get past either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.
“In the play-offs” continued Williams, “I’d estimate that they’d be pushing towards £30m from this season’s competition. If they can win over two legs in that round or make the last-16 automatically, that is when things get really transformative financially.
“But even if they don’t get there, you’ve got enough extra revenue there to see them push close to that £150m mark.
“In the playoffs, you’ve got an extra home game there, which would be worth an extra couple of million in matchday income. They have had one extra home game compared to last season already because of the new format.
“I’d be willing to bet that there will be a commercial spike as well, both in terms of merchandise sales and leverage with sponsors because of the added exposure with more Champions League matches.
“They might just fall short of £150m, but it’s not inconceivable. For context, that is more than a handful of Premier League clubs’ revenues. That would be seriously impressive for a club whose domestic TV deal is worth a fraction of the Premier League’s.”
Celtic recorded a record turnover last season with £124.6m revenue helped the Hoops have over £70m resting in their bank account.
For Rodgers however, the benefit for the Hoops boss is that the Parkhead moneymen can free up more cash to help strengthen the Celtic first-team to increase the gap to Rangers and dominate Scottish football for years to come.
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