Staggering losses of £126.81m for new club that can’t balance the books

Yesterday theRangers announced their financial results and it made for grim reading, well for those of an Ibrox persuasion it did anyway!

Not for the first time theRangers reported a loss, although this time it was to the tune of a whooping £17 million. It wasn’t all bad news though, as for the first time in a decade they had no threats of litigation hanging over them. Thank heavens for small mercies.

Year after year it’s always the same. Loss after loss. A club propped up on loans. It seems they haven’t learned any lessons from the demise of the old club which went into liquidation in 2012 with debts of around £100m. The face painter never did get his money.

And it’s worth noting that if you exclude the Covid season then this latest figure is their biggest ever loss and that surely is terrifying their supporters. Desperate to keep up with Celtic, theRangers care not a jot about the consequences while they keep on making the same mistakes, and they have next to nothing to show for it.

It surely can’t be long until the reaper is sharping his scythe and descending on Ibrox to bestow the same fate on the new club, founded by Charles Green in 2012. Jelly and Ice cream could very well be returning to the menu…

Let’s have a closer look at the numbers that determine who is the top dog in Scottish football and who is the basket case and how theRangers could end up as the third force in Scottish football as Aberdeen awake from their slumber to take advantage and collect a Slot gacor jackpot of their own by becoming Celtic’s main challenger for the title in what tonight could become a two horse race.

Let’s start by looking at some historical numbers as outlined by Inside the SPFL, who concluded that it’s “an abysmally run Football Club, unsustainable”

The Rangers’ losses by the season since the club was founded:

2012-13 – £14m
2013-14 – £8.1m
2014-15 – £7.5m
2015-16 – £3.3m
2016-17 – £6.7m
2017-18 – £14.3m
2018-19 – £11.3m
2019-20 – £15.9m
2020-21 – £23.5m
2021-22 – £0.9m
2022-23 – £4.14m
2023-24 – £17.17m

TOTAL LOSSES  – £126.81

Some comparison with Celtic were made via The Scottish Sun, it’s worth mentioning that these numbers cover the year up to June 2024 and plenty has happened since then, with Celtic selling Matt O’Riley for £30m to Brighton and the Ibrox stadium closure for the early part of the season with it is additional costs and loss of revenues as attendances were lower at Hampden.

Also Celtic has been making spectacular money in the Champions League this season (expected to be more than £50m) which of course theRangers failed to reach after losing the second leg of their qualifier…at Hampden.

In terms of revenue the like for like comparison for the last financial year shows Celtic well ahead as you would expect. Celtic reported revenue of £124.6m while theRangers reached a record figure of £88.3m but they still trailed their rivals £36.3m.

In the profit/loss column theRangers report a £17m loss while for Celtic it’s a £13.3m profit, that’s over £30m difference again, and a figure that should terrify theRangers support who in recent games have been busy displaying banners criticising the very folk whose money is keeping the lights on.

In terms of staff costs, last year theRangers outspent Celtic (remarkably) spending £64m to Celtic’s £60.8m) but this time there has been some cost cutting (every little helps) at Ibrox but they are still spending £61.1m while the Champions have increased their wage bill to £65.6m with new contracts being offered to top performers to extend their contracts and maintain their transfer valuation. Matt O’Riley falls into this category and he has subsequently been sold for £30m.

In transfer during the period (ahead of the summer transfer window) theRangers lost £8m while Celtic lost 4.9m. theRangers gained £5.6m in transfer fees in the year to June 2024, but this was £8m short of covering the £13.6m figure for amortisation and impairment of transfer fees over the same period.

Celtic’s number for 2023-24 showed £6.6m in transfer fees but an £11.4m sum on player amortisation over the same period.

Cash in the bank is always crucial and it’s grim reading for theRangers whose reported figure is just £1.7m compared to Celtic sitting on a cash mountain of £77m that is only going to increase with Champions League money and on going excellent trading numbers.

We mentioned keeping the lights on, well that is being facilitated by their directors and investors.

TheRangers explain this in their accounts:

“Subsequent to the year end, the Directors have approved the conversion of £9.0 million existing debt into equity with the remaining loan balances being converted to a new long-term facility.

“As part of the refinancing, the club will draw down a further £4.0 million in debt funding.

“Additionally, our investors continue to be supportive and have agreed a funding plan to raise an additional £8.6 million of equity.”

That is how the lights will be kept on this season. More confetti shares, which were recently trading at around 5p and will now be diluted further, and more debt funding. They don’t have a CEO. They don’t have a permanent Chairman after John Bennett had to step back due to health issues with over £10m of his own money already invested in theRangers. Other key positions remain unfilled.

In the summer they gave their manager Philippe Clement a contract extension. Tonight his side take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie while Celtic play Dundee at Celtic Park. Two home wins for the top two in the Scottish Premiership this season would see theRangers fall an incredible NINE points behind both Aberdeen and Celtic.

Aberdeen challenging for that second Champions League qualifier spot is a nightmare for theRangers and no-one could really have seen that coming. Inevitably there would be calls for Clement’s head from their support but it’s highly unlikely that theRangers could afford to change managers and even if they did the next boss would have to work with what he’s got.

In terms of sellable assets in the squad Celtic have plenty but even theRangers supporters are struggling to construct an argument for any real transfer value in the current squad, certainly not short term.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy