Celtic's expected windfall revealed as glamour friendly agreed - finance guru
Celtic are likely to make very little revenue despite setting up a pre-season friendly with Serie A giants AC Milan at Celtic Park.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Hoops' primary focus should be on next season's Champions League campaign.
Martin O'Neill's future has already been decided, with the 74-year-old putting pen to paper on a one-year extension with the Scottish Premiership champions.
Supporters will be expecting a much better 2026-27 campaign at Celtic Park, already kicking off when the Hoops face AC Milan on 25 July, 2026.
During his first spell at the club, O'Neill led the team against the Rossoneri back in 2004, losing and drawing the two games in the Champions League.
Finances are a huge top in Scotland, with very little being splashed on transfers, and supporters will be wondering how much of an impact this friendly could have for the Hoops.
Celtic vs AC Milan windfall set to disappoint
Sadly, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson does not expect very much windfall from the one-off fixture at all, with some of the money also going to AC Milan.
"Not much, to be honest. A one-off game like that is not going to net you a material amount. Obviously, it brings in some revenue at the top.
"I don't know what the ticket prices are going to be like, but I assume that they're not going to be able to charge much more than £20, £25, £30 for a friendly.
"You've got costs on the day and you've also got, presumably, a payaway to AC Milan as well. So that's not going to move the dial.
"But they just won the league, and they've got the Champions League possibility. That's the thing they've got to focus on."
Friendly fixture the perfect chance to get fans onside
Handing O'Neill another contract has certainly gone some way to pleasing the supporters, but it will take a lot more than that after the 2025-26 season.
Until the final day, the entire campaign would have been seen as a failure. That was until the Hoops beat Hearts under controversial circumstances to win the Scottish Premiership title.
The club's hierarchy will be under pressure to get deals done for the manager, and the friendly fixture will be an opportunity to show off the new purchases.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Marcelo Saracchi could even make permanent returns to Celtic Park, but that would not be anywhere near enough to get the fans excited for the new season.