Celtic are, thankfully, not involved in UEFA qualifiers this summer but that doesn’t mean there isn’t interest for the Bhoys in these matches as the Champions League playoff round looms.
It looks increasingly likely that Celtic will be in pot four of the competition, so while that slim hope of pot three remains alive, that’s not the main consideration.
Chiefly, the bonus of the playoff round is that more money could be on its way to the Bhoys, should certain teams make it into the group stages.
AEK Athens helped to that end at the weekend, as we explained on 67 Hail Hail, with their result against Dinamo Zagreb banking Celtic another £970,000 from the ten-year coefficient ranking list payout from UEFA.
Dinamo are above Celtic in that list, with AEK and their playoff opponents Antwerp lower – meaning the Bhoys are guaranteed to be a place higher than they would have been with the Croatians in the tournament. Each ranking step is worth another £970,000 to those who make it into the group stages.
And there’s more money on the line with the next round of ties. Both Panathinaikos and Rakow are below Celtic in the ten-year list, with their playoff opponents Braga and Copenhagen above the Scottish champions. So, another £1.94m would be on the way to the Bhoys should the Greeks and Poles make it.
Rangers getting through over PSV would also land another £970,000 from the coefficient payment, but it’s a net benefit for Celtic if the Ibrox side crash out due to an extra share of the TV pool payment as Scotland’s sole representatives.
Celtic’s total income from the coefficient payment alone could top £10m if these teams make it through, before even considering another £13.3m in participation money, subsequent prize money and that potential £5m or so of TV pool cash. Then there will be ticket income and commercial benefits to follow.
So the champions are again raking it in. Which is why fans are so eager to see more investment into the first-team squad before the end of the summer transfer window.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers suggests changes are coming to Celtic for weekend clash.
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