Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed Glasgow Rangers have missed out on around £36m in matchday revenue across this season.

Maguire discusses Rangers issue

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Gers have been unable to welcome supporters to Ibrox throughout the whole of this campaign.

Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire has revealed the financial loss and believes the Scottish government must shed light on when fans can return. He said:

"I think Rangers fans will renew because Steven Gerrard has delivered for them.

"When the club will legitimately be allowed to claim that money is so complex a problem.

"Clearly, they’ll have to roll over season tickets, which I think will be an issue.

"Scotland as a country has the highest proportion in Uefa of matchday income compared to total income.

"When we look at Rangers, 60 per cent of its total income in 2020 came from matchday. So it is a dominant force.

"Matchday income for 2020 was just under £36m out of total revenues of £59m, and that was a season that was curtailed by Covid.

"Potentially next season if they reach the group stages of the Champions League, the broadcasting pot will rise significantly.

"But matchday income is essential for Rangers. They’ve got a completely devoted fanbase who will turn up regardless of the opposition."

Deficit

Unfortunately, the last year has had a negative impact on clubs across the world. The Gers may be big enough to survive even without such a source of income, but £36m is a huge amount of money to miss out on. Hopefully, they can reach the group stages of the Champions League to offset that loss.

So far, it remains unclear as to when supporters will be once again allowed to attend matches in the Premiership - this is something that must be determined as soon as possible, at the very least so clubs can plan ahead. 12,000 fans are set to attend European Championships games at Hampden Park this summer, which perhaps gives an indication of what is come. Conversation, though, is needed at club level as well.

In other news, Frank McAvennie slams the Rangers player's valuation.