Finance expert Kieran Maguire lays bare Celtic financial difference with Dundee

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Celtic fans are well aware of the club’s financial strength.

Ongoing fan protests were on show again in Sunday’s meeting with Dundee, when fans threw small balls onto the pitch at kick-off.

This came after a transfer window in which Brendan Rodgers wasn’t fully backed after the sales of Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi.

The squad failed to qualify for the Champions League after a disastrous defeat to Kairat Almaty, leaving them playing Europa League football for the first time in four years.

Rodgers made eyebrow-raising comments after the 2-0 defeat against Dundee on Sunday, and one football finance expert has shown some damning contrasts between the two sides.

Celtic’s financial difference with Dundee after Brendan Rodgers’ ‘Honda Civic’ comments

Rodgers compared his Celtic squad to a Honda Civic after the game, saying that he couldn’t be expected to be having it racing like a Ferrari.

But it’s easy to forget that the Hoops should still be these kinds of domestic matches with their current squad.

READ MORE: Simon Jordan addresses Eddie Howe ‘coward’ comments four years on from Celtic rejection

Finance expert Kieran Maguire has examined the difference between the sides in terms of wages, profits, player signings and other areas.

The Hoops have played Champions League football in each of the last three years, also racking up big-money sales of the likes of Matt O’Riley and Jota.

Dundee, on the other hand, filled their squad with mostly loans and free transfers in the summer, after appointing Steven Pressley from Brentford.

In terms of cash in the bank, Celtic have £186.37 for every £1 held by Dundee.

This financial gap exists between the Hoops and many of their Premiership opponents, but it’s easy to forget the extent of it.

The difference in retained profits is also amusing. No one is asking Celtic to start losing money, but £92.9 million in profits when Dundee lose £14 million is quite the contrast.

Brendan Rodgers’ Honda Civic comments

Rodgers used the analogy when speaking in his post-match press conference after the defeat.

He said: “Listen, it’s not all linear and all smooth right the way through the season. That’s for sure. The challenge from the summer, now leading into here, where we lost a lot of firepower, a lot of goals out on the team.

“And there’s no way you’ll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, I want you to drive it like a Ferrari.

“It’s not going to happen. So until something changes, I have to find the solutions. Because like I said, goals, speed, everything has come out of the team. And we need to find a way to be better.”