‘Rangers well placed to sign Leeds stars’ after Sky’s takeover update
Rangers have failed to qualify for the Champions League in the past couple of seasons after falling to defeat in the qualifying rounds.
The Scottish giants are through to the last 16 of the Europa League this season after finishing fifth in the revamped league phase of the competition.
However, Celtic have landed a £45million windfall from the Champions League, with Rangers’ earnings from Europe likely to be significantly lower than that figure.
Sky Sports reported on 4 March US investors have agreed a deal in principle for a takeover at Ibrox.
Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe, who is president of San Francisco 49ers’ investment arm, is one of two key figures involved in the deal alongside health insurance tycoon Andrew Cavenagh.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Rangers could be in line to sign players from Leeds if the takeover goes through.
49ers Enterprises purchased a 15 per cent stake at Elland Road in 2018 before completing its £170million takeover in July 2023.
Leeds are currently top of the English Championship table, eight points clear of third-place Burnley as they go in pursuit of a return to the Premier League.
Rangers must agree new signings to match Celtic
Borson insisted Rangers need to improve their squad to be able to challenge Celtic and qualify for the Champions League.
He told Football Insider: “I think the deal cuts both ways for Rangers and Leeds.
“If you look at what Rangers could be, for a certain period, it would not necessarily be a terrible situation for Rangers to be able to take players from a successful Leeds United team and vice versa.
“It depends on those terms being at arm’s length and market rates, which they would need to be anyway. But having access to a talent pool from what they hope over time will be a top Premier League team as part of the same group can have advantages.
“There have not been many examples, but Savinho at Manchester City coming from Girona is one of the examples of where it has worked, with Savinho looking like a very top player.
“They are few and far between, but I think Rangers having a close relationship with a Premier League team could have some very significant upsides.
“Rangers need to get into a position where the side on the pitch is good enough to qualify for the Champions League and get through whatever qualifiers they need to get through.
“If you can get 10 Champions League games, that is transformational to the profit and loss of Rangers, and it’s particularly important if Celtic have got it.
“Just to keep up with Celtic, they are going to have to have whatever Celtic have got in terms of Champions League. Otherwise, the gap is just going to get bigger and bigger.”
| Rangers shareholders | Shares (%) |
| Dave King | 13 |
| Douglas Park | 11.5 |
| George Taylor | 10.2 |
| Stuart Gibson | 9.5 |
| John Bennett | 7.1 |
| Julian Wolhardt | 6.7 |
| John Halsted | 6 |
Rangers owners have bankrolled £3m+ injection
A significant investment would secure a majority stake at Ibrox, with former chairman Dave King currently the largest shareholder at 13 per cent.
It has been confirmed Rangers’ owners have bankrolled a £3.6million injection after the club’s financial situation has been firmly in the spotlight over the past few months.
Although the club’s revenue increased from £83.8million to a record-breaking figure of £88.3million in 2023-24, their net losses surged by £4.1million to £17.2million across the same period.
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