The champions have sold multiple big players like Virgil Van Dijk for great money whereas Gers have only made big earnings on three talents.

Celtic have raked in £33million from transactions over the last ten seasons, while Rangers are down £10m.

New data from the CIES Football Observatory has tracked teams’ total transfer volume (incoming and leaving) during the last ten seasons, their net transfer spend over the same time and last five seasons, and for the current campaign. And the stats demonstrate that the champions’ player trading concept is working as it’s designed to be.

The likes of Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper, Fraser Forster, Virgil Van Dijk, Moussa Dembele, Jeremie Frimpong, Odsonne Edouard and Josip Juranovic and Jota were all sold for significant money after signing for comparatively little outlay. And Kieran Tierney’s £25million departure to Arsenal in 2019 was pure profit after coming through the ranks. By comparison, Rangers’ outgoings have resulted in significantly more modest fees over the last decade. Only Nathan Patterson’s move to Everton, Calvin Bassey’s club record transfer to Ajax and Joe Aribo joining Southampton brought in considerable amounts.

Coupled with the Gers’ spending, that’s equated to a £10m transfer deficit over the last ten years. Things appeared to be trending in the right direction, with a +£7m net spend for the last five seasons, with Celtic only marginally ahead on +£9m.

However, this campaign, the Light Blues are down £5million after Michael Beale’s summer splurge. Celtic meanwhile, are in the black by £6m.

Read more on sportupdates.co.uk