Stefan Borson: This is how Celtic could spend more money after official documents analysed
Celtic’s board have been criticised for their lack of spending after publishing the club’s latest accounts.
Celtic were expected to smash their club-record revenue following their exploits in the Champions League last season.
Celtic landed around £38million in prize money from the Champions League, with Brendan Rodgers’s side reaching the knock-out round play-offs before being narrowly beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.
The Scottish champions posted their accounts for 2024-25 on 19 September, revealing their revenue increased from £124.6m in 2023-24 to £143.6m last season.
Meanwhile, Celtic recorded a £33.9m profit after tax and went into the latest summer transfer window with £77.3m of cash assets.
Celtic told to increase player-trading profits
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Celtic will be able to spend more money if they can continue to record high player-trading profits each season.
The Glasgow side’s net spend on transfers was just over £7m last season, with £31.5m of their £38.6m worth of spending recouped by player sales.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “Look, it’s so skewed to European football these days.
“I thought the most interesting thing was profit on disposal in tangible assets. There doesn’t seem to be a note as to who that’s related to, and off the top of my head I can’t remember, but that looks like player-trading profits of £31m, which is really a lot more than they’ve done historically and is very meaningful.
“If you can start to do that on a regular basis, it’s going to have a massive impact. That’s where the profit is.”
Celtic’s biggest sale of last season was Matt O’Riley, with the midfielder joining Brighton for around £25m.
Celtic profits are dependent on Champions League
Celtic spent around £13m in the recent summer window, while they brought in £26m in player sales.
Borson said: “At the EBITDA level, it’s actually quite a profitable club when it’s in Europe, and then if you can add on £30m of profit on disposable players, then you’ve got a business that’s actually quite an interesting proposition.
“That’s where the opportunity is, but you have got to do it regularly. They haven’t done it regularly, so they don’t usually make £30m player-sales profits. Presumably, they’re cautious about what they can do going forward on player trading.
“If it was replicable each year, then they would be able to spend with more confidence.”
Celtic have picked up 14 points from their opening six games of the new Scottish Premiership season.
For more Celtic news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.