Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers and Celtic look set to continue in Scotland for a while longer.
Niall Quinn has told Sky Sports he finds it to be a “great pity” that Celtic and Rangers will only compete against one another for the “foreseeable future” in Scotland.
Last week, Sky Sports reported that the EFL elected against restructuring English football to accommodate the arrival of Celtic and Rangers, and Premier League B sides.
There has long been suggestions that the future of both Old Firm clubs would be down South, but it seems like that wait will go on a lot longer before it materialises – if ever.
There are huge financial benefits for both Rangers and Celtic if a move to English football ever materialises, and Quinn has pointed to the revenue of Swansea City, a Welsh outfit, to illustrate just what the Glasgow giants are missing out on.
“Either club would have been very interested in getting a foot on that ladder [in English football]. The reasons are obvious. This year for example, Swansea, a Welsh club as the Old Firm will have noticed, will be guaranteed TV rights money of £97m if they finish bottom of the Premier League,” he wrote for Sky Sports.
“If they appear on television more than 10 times they will get more than that. If they win the competition they will receive £148m. Should they finish mid-table – in 10th place, say – they can expect around £118m.
“The current TV deal for Scottish football is dwarfed by that for the Premier League. No matter how you slice it, Celtic and Rangers are going to struggle to be seriously competitive with anybody but each other for the foreseeable future. That is a great pity.”
Between them, Celtic and Rangers have 101 Scottish top-flight league titles, and it seems clear that in the long term, both sides will be each other’s biggest competition for adding to their respective haul.
In the short term, the Gers have a ways to go before they can even dream about a 55th title, having lost 5-1 to the Hoops a fortnight ago.
Celtic fans in the stadium await the arrival of New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers after the press conference
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