The Political Economy of Football V2

Scottish football has been given a big boost by World Cup qualification, but like all clubs outside the Big Five leagues, Rangers are still faced with a major challenge when trying to compete with the European elite. If Rangers were ever to compete in the Premier League, they should be able to acquit themselves pretty well, as they would benefit from the same TV deal, but be ahead of most clubs in the other revenue streams. The American consortium at Rangers has said that it “will chart a new strategic vision for the club’s future prioritising on-pitch performance and long-term financial sustainability”.   The authoritative Swiss Ramble surveys the position. Ranger’s pre-tax loss in 2024/25narrowed by £2.4m (14%) from £17.3m, but it still came in at a hefty £14.9m. Revenue rose £5.8m (7%) from £88.3m to a club record £94.1m, but this was more than offset by a worse result in player sales, which swung from a £5.6m profit to a £0.6m loss. Rangers’ revenue growth was largely d...

Rangers’ pre-tax loss in 2022/23 slightly increased from £2.2m to £3.1m, as revenue fell £3m (4%) from club record £87m to £84m and other operating income dropped £4m (82%) from £5m to £1m. Rangers’ revenue decrease was largely driven by having no European football after the group stage, which led to reductions in gate receipts & hospitality, down £2m (5%) from £42m to £40m, and commercial, down £1m (6%) from club record £20m to £19m. Broadcasting rose very slightly to £25m. Despite the lower revenue, Rangers still invested more money in the squad, as the wage bill increased £9m (17%) from £55m to a new club record of £64m.   This was partly due to bonuses for Champions League qualification. This means that wages have now grown seven years in a row, nearly quadrupling since promotion in 2016. Rangers’ results were boosted by their best ever profit from player sales of £23.6m, which was more than twice as much as prior year’s £11.2m, mainly due to the club record sale of C...