What will Rangers’ £20m rebuild look like?

The new American owners of Rangers received approval to invest $ 20 million in the club on Monday, a significant development for the Ibrox club.

By Scottish football standards, it is a sizable sum of money. Is it sufficient, however, in the more specific context of Rangers’ conflict with Celtic?

In a time of unprecedented dominance, Glasgow’s green-and-white half has won 13 of its previous 14 Scottish Premiership titles.

However, Andrew Cavenagh, the new chairman of Rangers, claims that the club’s goal is to return to the Champions League.

It’s also unknown how much of the £20 million will go directly to the squad of new head coach Russell Martin because Cavenagh also stated they would be purposefully “opaque” about the transfer budget.

It is obvious that the San Francisco 49ers’ investment arm and Cavenagh brought in significant sums of money.

However, Rangers’ most recent financial results, which date back to October 2024, show a loss of £17 million for the previous fiscal year.

Costs have been reduced since then, but the new owners discovered a club that was losing money as of June 2024 and had only £1.7 million in the bank.

A staggering amount of cash was held by Celtic at the end of the same time period (£65 million as of December 31, 2024).

The key factors in this comparison are Celtic’s cunning ability to attract and sell young talent for a sizable profit.

Celtic players account for eight of the ten biggest sales in Scottish football history, according to transfermarkt.com, and they have all occurred within the last eleven years.

Celtic’s financial success is also credited to regular Champions League football, which has allowed them to financially outlive Rangers.

So, while not to be sniffed at, the sum of £20m won’t change Rangers’ spending power in comparison to that of their rivals.

Cavenagh is aware of this, claiming that the long-term goal is to provide financial stability with the potential for Ibrox expansion as a later project.

Come in, spend some money, sign some players, try to win something, and then experience the sugar crash that comes with that, Cavenagh said. “We are not looking for the sugar high.

A key figure in the management of sporting organizations, Vice-chairman Paraag Marathe, according to his own words to shareholders, “has a deep expertise in turning them around”

He has spent years working for the 49ers’ analytics and data department.

He has used that background to help Leeds United, who were only just promoted to the Premier League last season after conceding a season-long absence.

Leeds was forced to sell star players like Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray, and Georginio Rutter for large sums of money and reinvest in the following year as a result of their unsuccessful promotion bid.

Ao Tanaka and Jayden Bogle were among the players who helped them win the title, and they did it cleverly and reasonably cheaply.

Marathe emphasizes that it is about being “smarter” rather than “hosing money at players,” making it seem the most instructive comparison to what might take place at Rangers.

Other clubs have reportedly expressed interest in striker Cyriel Dessers and midfielder Nicolas Raskin in addition to the $ 20 million injection.

Cavenagh did not provide any information about the summer plans, but it might be best to cash in and look to reinvest right away.

The clock is ticking, though, given that only four weeks until Rangers’ first competitive game, a massive one against Panathinaikos in Champions League qualifying, are scheduled.

Lyall Cameron, a former Dundee midfielder, is the only confirmed addition to the Rangers squad, despite the Rangers’ claim that they are close to signing Bournemouth right-back Max Aarons on loan.

There is a lot to be done because the senior players from last season’s departure, including Vaclav Cerny, Leon Balogun, Ianis Hagi, and Tom Lawrence.

Cavenagh claimed that this year, “the club is in a different position.” From a financial standpoint, “we can be patient.”

Rangers only need to consider what transpired when Ange Postecoglou arrived at Celtic Park in 2021 and immediately reclaimed the title.

The Australian, who had been instrumental in Celtic’s success under his leadership and Brendan Rodgers, added Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, and Reo Hatate despite losing the first Old Firm derby.

A head coach who can improve a squad as well as a few key signings can be very helpful. Particularly because Rangers’ shortcomings last term were more reliant on Celtic than the rest of the league.

Kevin Thomson, a former Rangers midfielder, believes that finding players with the right attitude and the right attitude is also a top priority.

According to him, “When you get to Rangers and Celtic, it comes down to what kind of players they recruit and how they handle it mentally.”

How do you constantly develop that edge?

Cavenagh claimed one of the four key qualities they were looking for in a hiring the former Southampton boss was the ability to improve players, as well as the style of play, win, and create a culture.

And while the new owners frequently mention that this is going to be a long-term project, they are undoubtedly optimistic about a long-term project.

Cavenagh remarked, “It’s possible or we wouldn’t be here,” adding that they share fans’ “sense of urgency.”

We don’t believe it will be simple. We will work hard to improve on-pitch performance and the club’s infrastructure, but it won’t happen right away.