Rangers have booked their place in the Europa League knockout stages despite the dramatic defeat at Old Trafford.
The injury-hit Gers were minutes away from snatching a late point against Manchester United after Cyriel Dessers’ sublime goal in the 88th minute. It would have placed one foot in the last 16 spots. But Bruno Fernandes scored in added time to send the Govan side down to 13th place and three points outside the top eight. One comfort is the fact that results elsewhere guaranteed a play-off spot, at least, for the Light Blues with a final matchday against Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise to come.
Phlippe Clement has a taste for Thursday night European action with big wins against Nice and FCSB under his belt. It is what put them in a great position to secure European football beyond January. The Europa League cannot boast the riches of the Champions League but every ounce of prize money counts if some last-minute deals are to be secured before the window deadline.
Rangers have had a fond relationship with Europe’s second club competition lately after reaching the Seville final 2022. The Govan side saw their passionate home support roar them on as they knocked out the likes of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig before falling at the final hurdle to Eintracht Frankfurt. And fans will dream again that they can go on another continental adventure to put their domestic worries behind them and add some extra dough in their pocket. Here, Record Sport has crunched the prize money numbers, so you don’t have to.
Europa League prize money
- Winner: £10.95m
- Runner-up: £5.9m
- Semi-finalists: £3.54m
- Quarter-finalists: £2.11m
- Round of 16: £1.47m
- Reaching knockout round play-off: £250k
- League-phase wins: £379k
- League-phase draws: £126k
- League-phase defeats: £0
How much have Rangers banked so far?
Taking the above numbers into account, Rangers have already pocketed some much-needed funds from this year’s revamped competition. Gers got £3.64m just from qualifying and topped up their prize money with performance-related bonuses. Wins over Malmo, FCSB and Nice swelled the coffers by a cool £1.14m, plus draws against Olympiacos and Tottenham added another £252k to the pot – a total of £1.389m.
- Malmo 0-2 Rangers (£379k)
- Rangers 1-4 Lyon (£0)
- Rangers 4-0 FCSB (£379k)
- Olympiacos 1-1 Rangers (£126k)
- Nice 1-4 Rangers (£379k)
- Rangers 1-1 Tottenham (£126k)
- Manchester United 2-1 Rangers (£0)
- Total: £1.389m
So, as things stand, the Scottish champions are guaranteed at least £5.029m, but that final number will be bolstered by ticket sales and any further progression in the knockout stages.
How much is the Europa League knockouts worth?
Rangers can qualify for either the last 16, via the top eight places, or go into the last 32 play-off spots, positions nine to 24. There is a huge emphasis on qualifying for the last 16 as the prize money is nearly six times greater than a play-off spot (as highlighted above).
Rangers will also be due another chunky sum from UEFA depending on their final position, which will be settled at Ibrox on Thursday January 30 against Union Saint-Gilloise. Each position in the table is worth £63.4k, meaning the club that finishes 36th will earn that figure with an additional £63.4k added for every higher ranking after all eight matches.
According to UEFA, clubs ranked 1 to 8 in the league ranking will receive an additional £507.3k and clubs ranked 9 to 16 will receive an additional £253.6k.