Kieran Maguire drops £31m Celtic bombshell as 'game-changing' date approaches
Celtic have seen their annual revenue plummet by £31million since they last qualified for the Champions League group stages.
That is according to finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider ahead of Celtic's clash with FC Midtjylland tomorrow.
It is the first leg of a two-legged knockout tie in the Champions League second qualifying round.
Celtic will know whether they have qualified for the next round after the second leg on 28th July.
Ange Postecoglou's side must navigate two more ties if they are to reach the group stages of Europe's top competition for the first time since 2017-18.
Maguire detailed the Uefa prize money system and explained how Celtic could be badly hit if they fail to qualify for a fourth successive season.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: "We're not quite sure of the numbers this year but you get around about £13m as a base figure for qualifying.
"You then get £2.3m for a win and £775,000 for a draw. Then there are the win bonuses and, of course, the bonuses for getting through.
"Then you think about gate recipts and sponsorship bonuses. So the group stages are a real game-changer for Celtic.
"Celtic's revenue was £101m in 2018 to £83m in 2019 and then to £70m in 2020.
"That was really impacted upon by their progress, or lack of it, in Europe."
Maguire told this site earlier today (19th July) that Celtic's Uefa coefficient ranking gives them a financial boost over Rangers in Europe.
Rangers will enter at the penultimate round of qualifying.