Report: Hamburg relegation means Rangers getting smaller fee for Bates

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Rangers and Raith Rovers will reportedly receive less money in compensation for David Bates after Hamburg were relegated.

Rangers will receive less money in compensation from Hamburg for David Bates because of the German club’s relegation from the Bundesliga, reports the Scotsman.

Bates has agreed to join the side on a free transfer this summer, signing a four-year deal at the Volksparkstadion, but because the defender is under the age of 23 FIFA rules state a fee has to be paid.

Both Gers and the 21-year-old’s boyhood club Raith Rovers – whom he left for Ibrox in 2016, initially on loan before making the move permanent in January 2017 – will be due a payment as a result.

Yet the fact that Hamburg have dropped into Germany’s second tier for the first time in their history means that they are now regarded as a category 2 club by UEFA, rather than a category 4.

As a result, this means they will get to pay less in compensation for the signature of Bates, which for the cash-strapped Scottish sides will come as a blow.

Fife Today reported last month that Raith alone would have been set to receive a six-figure fee if the relegation had not happened.