Benfica’s £120m Europa League transfer chasm laid bare as Rangers boss vindicated.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement believes Benfica’s larger transfer budget makes them favourites for the Round of 16 Europa League match.
The Gers are in Lisbon to compete against the Portuguese heavyweights and their expensively assembled team for a place in the Quarter Finals of the Europa League.
How much of a financial advantage does Benfica have over Rangers in the next tie?
Here, we look at both Europa League squads and the reported transfer amounts spent by both sides, with the findings sure to turn some heads.
Philippe Clement openly acknowledged the gap in transfer fees before the encounter.
Will it provide Rangers fans with perspective going into the two-legged tie? Oh, of course not. We expect our team to give their all in pursuit of progress.
Rangers’ Europa League team costs £34.25 million.
Rangers has chosen a 22-man Europa League roster for the knockout stages, including three changes from the first half of the campaign.
While teams can register 25 players, this season’s squad lacks homegrown options, preventing us from doing so. Angry tweets regarding Lewis Ferguson and Lawrence Shankland.
Nonetheless, the Rangers roster, albeit far smaller than Benfica’s, has received a significant amount of investment, with a total of £34.25 million spent creating this year’s club.
- GK – Jack Butland (free), Robby McCrorie (Academy), Kieran Wright (Academy)
- DEF – James Tavernier (£200k), Ridvan Yilmaz (£5m), John Souttar (free), Connor Goldson (£3.5m), Dujon Sterling (free), Ben Davies (£4m), Borna Barisic (£2.2m)
- MID – John Lundstram (free), Ryan Jack (free), Mohamed Diomande (£4.5m), Nicolas Raskin (£1.7m), Tom Lawrence (free), Todd Cantwell (£1.5m)
- FWD – Scott Wright (£150k), Rabbi Matondo (£2.5m), Abdallah Sima (loan), Fabio Silva (loan), Kemar Roofe (£4.5m), Cyriel Dessers (£4.5m)
Benfica Europa League squad cost – £153.9m
Rangers manager Philippe Clement did not lie when he mentioned financial disparities.
When it comes to transfer deals, Benfica is in a whole different league than Rangers, with the Ibrox club’s largest outlay – the £5 million for Ridvan Yilmaz – eclipsed by Benfica’s (£26 million for Orkun Kökçü).
Despite spending over £10 million on players, Benfica’s Europa League team consists of only 19 registered names due to the club’s Academy producing many B-list players.
You’ll also observe that, while this squad has been expensively formed (Benfica has outspent Rangers by a massive £119.65 million), it appears to be a little top heavy.
Rangers fans, do you fear this team after their defeat to FC Porto and the rising pressure on manager Roger Schmidt?
- GK – Anatoliy Trubin (£9.4m), Leo Kokubo (Academy)
- DEF – Alvaro Fernandez (loan), Morato (£6.5m), Alexander Bah (£6.8m), Juan Bernat (loan), Nicolas Otamendi (£12.8m)
- MID – Fredrik Aursnes (£12.8m), Orkun Kökçü (£26m), João Mário (free), Florentino (Academy)
- FWD – David Neres (£12.8m), Arthur Cabral (£21.3m), Angel di Maria (free), Casper Tengstedt (£8.3m), Rafa Silva (£13.8m), Benjamin Rollheiser (£7.7m), Marcos Leonardo (£15.7m), Tiago Gouveia (Academy)
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