Michael Stewart has broken ranks with BBC Scotland by discussing the desperate need for Champions League cash at Ibrox.
Losses of £23.5m last season were glossed over by the state broadcaster as they celebrated a behind-closed-doors title win.
That opened the doors to the Champions League but after teasing the Scottish media Jon Dahl-Tomasson sent Malmo out to finish the job and dump the Tribute Act into the Europa League qualifiers.
Bringing in the best part of £30m would stem the losses at Ibrox where Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Steven Gerrard have barely spent £1m on players during the last three transfer windows.
This season’s SPFL champions will almost certainly go straight into the group stage with Celtic knowing that a win tomorrow in the Glasgow Derby will send them nine points clear with three matches left to play.
Picking up on Stewart’s appearance on Sportscene tonight where he looked ahead to the return leg with Leipzig and a possible route into the Champions League, The Sun reports the former Hearts midfielder saying:
It just keeps that opportunity for Rangers potentially to get that other route into the Champions League.
And they desperately need to be getting into the Champions League if they want to continue spending money. Otherwise it could be a case of them having to sell dramatically in the summer.
With Nathan Patterson failing spectacularly at Championship-bound Everton there is little prospect of any clubs offering big money for Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos or Joe Aribo who are out of contract next summer.
Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, Connor Goldson, Steve Davis and Leon Balogun are out of contract next month with no mention of new deals being offered.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but, and it’s a major but, spending money you have not is not allowed if you expend to gain CL money. Yet we see Sevco and various others overreach continually. I think UEFA allow Ibrox to flout the FFP rules as the “Top leagues” do. To punish Sevco means applying the rules to PSG, et al. And now the rules have changed again to allow major debt ridden clubs to continue. I fear it will all colapse.
And we need to win a game like this