Rangers’ failure to win the UEFA Europa League could actually lead to a boost from matchday income, claims football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
The Lowdown: Rangers' Europa League campaign
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side came agonisingly close to winning their first European Cup since 1972 after going the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw against German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final.
Painstakingly, the Gers lost out on penalties as Aaron Ramsey was denied moments before Rafael Borre crashed in the decisive spot kick.
The Glasgow outfit would have automatically qualified for the Champions League group stages if they had beaten Frankfurt. Instead, they must now navigate two play-off rounds before qualifying.
[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/rangers-news-4/" title="Rangers news!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]
The Latest: Maguire’s claim
Despite this, Maguire believes that Rangers may be better off with two extra matches in the long run.
Speaking with Football Insider, he claimed:
“They’ve missed out on £3.9m in prize money.
“But you also qualify for the European Super Cup. It would be a very high-profile tie against either Real Madrid or Liverpool that they have missed out on.
“Then there is also automatic qualification in next year’s Champions League. They finished runners-up in the Scottish Premiership so they could still go through the preliminary stages.
“So if they do make it to the group stages of the Champions League, they will actually lose very little.
“In fact, you could argue they would be even better off because you can sell out Ibrox a few more times in those preliminary rounds.”
The Verdict: Great season for Rangers
Despite the painful loss in the Europa League final, the 2021/22 campaign can be labelled a big success for Rangers under new boss van Bronckhorst.
Just days after leaving Seville with runners-up medals, the Gers faced off against Hearts in the final of the Scottish Cup. Two goals in extra time ensured victory and another trophy being added to the club’s illustrious cabinet.
Therefore, with everything considered, Rangers fans should consider this season a success, thus providing them with hope for the title race in the Scottish Premiership next year.
In other news: Rangers: Jonny McFarlane stunned by Cinch news