Rangers to lose out on £6m as ‘big’ issue emerges – Keith Wyness
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness has revealed Rangers could miss out on up to £6million if they fail to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Europa League this season.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Aberdeen between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted it will be a “big issue” for the Glasgow side if they don’t make it out of the group stage.
Rangers had to settle for a place in the Europa League after they were beaten by Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
They got their group stage campaign off to a perfect start when they recorded a 2-0 victory over Swedish champions Malmo last month.
But Philippe Clement’s side’s hopes of reaching the knockout rounds were dealt a major blow when they were defeated 4-1 at Ibrox by Lyon last week.
Rangers told to buckle down after European blow
Wyness admitted Rangers now have to buckle down and sort out their issues following a largely unconvincing start to the season.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I think you would be looking at probably another £5million or more if they don’t qualify, but it’s nowhere near as big as Celtic in the Champions League.
“But if they don’t qualify in the Europa League, that’s going to be £5-6million at least.
“That result was embarrassing. It just fits in with the whole momentum of the club right now, it’s a negative spiral and that really added to it.
“To ship four goals at home on a Europa League night is very bad. Being back at Ibrox as well, everybody was starting to believe ‘We’re back home at Ibrox, we’ll make it a fortress’ and then that happened.
“It’s difficult. That will affect other revenue streams elsewhere. It also feeds the negative media water wheel that keeps on turning.
“While the Europa League money would be very important for Rangers right now, probably more important than the Champions League money is for Celtic right now if you look at it, it’s going to be a big issue for them.
“They have got to really buckle down now and get this sorted.”
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