Ross Wilson claims the clubs that Rangers meet in Europe can't believe the amount they take in from domestic prize money and TV revenue.
The Ibrox club have been at the forefront of scrutiny around the SPFL's new £30m-a-year contract with Sky Sports, with managing director Stewart Robertson saying last week he felt the Scottish game is being undersold. And now sporting director Wilson has offered an insight into how clubs on the continent view the cash that Premiership clubs accrue.
He revealed that a popular topic of discussion ahead of Champions League qualifying ties in recent seasons has been domestic revenues - both in prize money and from broadcasters. Rangers have faced the likes of Malmo, Union Saint-Gilloise and PSV Eindhoven over the last two years and Wilson claims his counterparts are stunned when they hear his answer. He told The Times : “You know when you meet someone at a wedding, and there’s a standard question, ‘What do you do, mate?’ The standard question round the table in Europe is, ‘Where are you at with prize money?’ and ‘Where are you at with TV revenues?’ None of them can ever believe it when we answer that question.”
Wilson also addressed criticism of Rangers ' summer transfer business amid minimal short-term impact from some of their acquisitions. The sporting director helped bring in Antonio Colak, Malik Tillman, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo, Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz and insists the club are happy with all of them so far.
Wilson said: “Ben [Davies] hadn’t done a full pre-season with Liverpool. He’s up to speed now, back on the bench, ready to go, and he’s one that the manager and staff are really pleased with.
“Listen, some players come here and hit the ground running straight away, I’ve seen that from Antonio Colak, with the great start he’s made to his Rangers career with the number of goals scored already. Tom Lawrence, who joined us from Derby, has been superb.
“(Tillman) has made a huge impression despite being a young man. Rabbi took a bit longer to get going but, again, we’re really happy with him and we’re sure he’ll do well for us. He was highly coveted by many European clubs, a young man we’re excited about, who we signed on a five-year contract and we’re committed to for five years not five weeks.
“The manager, the man who picks the team, has been happy with the performance of Borna Barisic, our Croatian left back. But we’re really happy with Ridvan and he’ll do well over the course for Rangers.”
