What does Champions League mean for Celtic & Rangers?

Almaty’s Central Stadium Date: Tuesday, August 26; 15:45 BST

In August, can a season be won or lost? Be realistic.

But can it lay out a difficult and terrifying course for upcoming campaigns, offering up a sizable sum of money, or leaving you searching for transfer funds?

It’s going to work, I suppose.

Scotland’s clubs have been working hard on the European front for more than a month, attempting to enter their respective league divisions. Celtic and Rangers are still on the verge of achieving, based on how pumped up their glass, to the Champions League.

Rangers are now 3-1 up when they travel to Club Brugge for the second leg of their play-off match, while Celtic were swept up in Kazakhstan on Tuesday with Kairat Almaty thanks to a 0-0 draw.

Okay, let’s start with the cash.

It’s no surprise that the Champions League has the biggest financial incentive out of the three European club competitions.

Each club receives about 18 million euros (15 million) in preparation for the proper competition. Additionally, you can add merchandise, sponsorship, additional sponsorship, and as much corporate cash as you can shake a giant prawn sandwich at to your list.

In contrast, a 15 million euro ($15. 5 million) reduction will result in a drop in that amount to just above 4 million euros ($4.5 million). A win is worth 450, 000 euros (£388, 000) instead of 2m euros (£1.73m).

Given that they will likely win more games and have a better chance of advancing, wouldn’t our two hopefuls not make more money in the Europa League? Given the significant sum of money they would forfeit to enter and the premium for all the extras that come with Champions League football, in reality, no.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire remarked, “There is that sizable amount.”

“I mean, it could be said that a Scottish club has a better chance of progressing beyond the Europa League.” Therefore, it might serve as a counterbalance to not participating in the Champions League.

You want to see your club face off against the elite of Europe, but I don’t think so, from the perspective of a fan. Both Celtic and Rangers fans believe they should be present frequently, in my opinion. It is a hit financially, as a result.

Cold, hard coefficient points are the main component of the equation, aside from cold, hard cash.

These are the factors that determine where your nation is in the rankings, and they also determine how many European spots you will be able to get and where you can get them.

Scotland is currently on the verge of collapse. They are battling it out of the top 15 nations because they already have lost the Scottish Premiership winners to automatic Champions League spots.

If that happens, 2027 will be the start of the unending qualifiers and summer of discontent.

Scotland are currently chasing Austria in 15th place, and Gavin Noon of Scotland’s Coefficient explains just how crucial Champions League qualification is.

Austria is 2.8 coefficient points ahead of us, so translating that into how many games you would need to win in the league phase, which equals 0.4 points for a win, is equivalent to seven wins, but Austria is only 2.8, he says, making that figure even higher.

“As a result, the 2.8 gap will be eliminated, completely gone, if Rangers and Celtic both win their second legs on Tuesday and Wednesday night, and reach the league phase, then that gap will be eliminated,” according to the statement. “There are big bonus points on offer just for qualifying for the Champions League.

“That’s because winning on the night is a score of 0.2 points, so it would mean they would both add 1.4 points to Scotland’s coefficient, or a double of that, that’s 2.8 points,” to close the gap.

What about the idea that because there is a higher chance of winning games, they would perform better in the absence of as much competition?

Similar to the financial argument, the one that is rejected is because the only way to compete is through the introduction of new opportunities.

Additionally, teams in all competitions are awarded points based on their respective league phases, with the Champions League team with the lowest point total earning the same number of points as the Europa League team with the highest position.

Noon cites the example of a team that, having three wins and a draw and finishing 24th, would be more valuable to Scotland’s coefficient than a team that had just reached the Champions League.

If you continue to do this, buckle up.

Scotland started out with five teams from Europe competing in three different divisions this year. Aberdeen and Hibs were in the Europa League while Dundee United was in Uefa Conference League qualifying, while Celtic and Rangers were in Champions League qualifying.

What would happen for season 2026-27 would significantly decrease if Scotland dropped out of the top 15.

Noon explains, “You don’t have five teams in Europe anymore; you have four.”

If you take a look at United this season, they did really well, they only just went out on penalties, and under the new scenario, which will occur in two years, if we don’t finish in the top 15, they won’t even be able to enter Europe.

The St Mirren campaign featured the same as last season, and that was their first since the late 1980s, similar to the Paisley street parties that were a big deal.

These teams simply wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.

Further up the list, there are significant repercussions.

Instead of our champion league teams entering the Champions League play-off round, it would be three qualifying rounds without any guarantee of league football.

Steven Thompson, a former Rangers striker and journalist for BBC Scotland,

Both Celtic and Rangers are renowned, massive clubs with strong reputations. Celtic have played in the Champions League once a year, but Rangers haven’t.

Many other clubs’ supporters don’t, in my opinion, give it too much thought.

You want as many teams competing in European football at the highest level possible, presumably for the general good of Scottish football. It looks good for the country, improves the coefficient, and generally raises more money for the game.

Because everyone is looking after their own thing and money is tight with every club, there are many advantages to the Champions League clubs being in the Champions League.

It’s a catch-22 [picking Champions League over Europa League]. Do you prefer a positive run or a return on investment?