Celtic’s current squad cost €63m to assemble, according to the CIES Football Observatory.
The statisticians have assessed how much each squad in world football is worth, and it is not a surprise that 8 of the top 10 clubs are English.
Manchester United’s first team is the most expensive in terms of transfer fees with €1.15bn having been spent, with Chelsea (€1.134bn) in second and Manchester City (€1.042bn) in third.
The fourth and final team that has a squad that costs more than €1bn is Paris Saint-Germain, with Arsenal (€836m) rounding out the top five.
Tottenham (€829m), Liverpool (€770m), Real Madrid (€708m), Newcastle (€661m) and West Ham (€505m) make up the rest of the top 10 teams.
The gulf in spending between Celtic and Europe’s elite is staggering
It should be pointed out that there are actually three English Championship clubs (Southampton, Leeds and Norwich) who are above the Hoops on this list.
That demonstrates the massive disparity in spending power the Scottish champions have to deal with, which becomes more evident when they play in European competitions.
Smart recruitment can, of course, make up for it to an extent, but it is not a level playing field by any stretch of the imagination.
Champions League prize money can address the spending gap somewhat
The fact that Celtic can now regularly qualify for the Champions League group stage means they are now guaranteed at least £45m in additional revenue. That money will increase when the revamp of the competition takes place next season.
However, the biggest difference is domestic TV rights. The Scottish Premiership’s deal with Sky Sports is worth just £150m for four seasons. In contrast, the English Premier League’s contract with the same broadcaster and TNT Sports is said to be worth a huge £5.12bn over a three-year period.
