‘Phenomenal’ – Finance expert reveals how Hearts will be transformed if they beat Celtic and Rangers to title
A shock Hearts title triumph in Scotland could net the club a huge amount of money to benefit them in the long-term.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley who exclusively told Football Insider the financial benefits of Hearts winning the Scottish Premiership.
The Edinburgh club currently have a nine point lead at the top of the table, helped by Hearts’ 3-1 victory over Celtic at Tynecastle in October.
Tony Bloom’s investment in Hearts has made an impact at the club already, with the Brighton owner aiming to win the league within the next 10 years.
Hearts title win would be a ‘huge moment’
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley explained how much Hearts could earn from a title triumph and subsequent Champions League qualification.
“I mean, it certainly would be a huge moment in Scottish football for sure. If you look at the finances, you can see how much of an achievement it would be,” Plumley said.
“If we just look at revenue alone, at Hearts in 2024 their revenue was £20m and Celtic’s was £125m.
“You know, the scale of an achievement there to win that league would be phenomenal. It won’t do too much in terms of shifting the overall financial position in Scotland. Celtic and Rangers will still be dominant.
“They’re the ones that, you know, they’ve got the power in terms of financing in Scottish football, but it will certainly be a huge moment for Hearts if they could win it.
“Everyone will be talking about it and it’s, you know, that those kind of stories, the Leicester one in the Premier League, those are the stories that people want to see, and and it would be a phenomenal achievement if they could pull it off.
“For the club, you know, if you could get into the Champions League, we know that Celtic and Rangers would take a minimum of around, well any club actually, just on the participation fee will take around €20m additional revenue just by getting into that league phase.
“And that would go back to Hearts and their turnover is £20m on average. So you are talking if they could get into the Champions League, it would double over overnight.
“That’s the real financial significance if they can obviously, a long way to go and it will be tough still.
“But if you can get into the Champions League as a club like that, you are talking double double the revenue quite straight away.“
UEFA rules could limit January spending
Hearts may be restricted by UEFA rules in January as Bloom cannot invest more money without being seen as having influence of the club.
That could restrict how much Hearts invest in their squad to strengthen them for the second half of the season.
Celtic are sure to bolster their squad in January, meaning their financial power may deny Hearts a historic title.