THEY have been leagues apart in Scotland of late but research shows the country's two biggest football clubs at either end of a European table on financial health.
The independent study by City analysts, which is geared towards investors, shows Scottish champions Celtic topping a league of publicly-listed European clubs for financial standing and stability while cross-Glasgow rivals Rangers are ranked bottom.
When the 17-team table is extended to include some of the Continent's most successful privately-run clubs, Celtic are third of 44, while Rangers are in 31st place.
Topping the 44-team financial health league are Dutch champions Ajax, followed by London club Arsenal.
At the other end are French side Lens, with Inter Milan second-last, with the club's financial structure and ownership model to blame.
Tapping into the surge in foreign ownership and global appeal of football, the report, by US-based markets and risk specialists McGraw Hill Financial, pulls together what it describes as a "virtual Credit Football League".
One key warning is on-field success being no gauge of a club's creditworthiness, with the report adding: "There is no sure thing in sports. Deteriorating match performance combined with economic struggles and financial concerns could sink a corporation (or a football club). An example of such a case is in Rangers International Football."
The positioning of both Glasgow clubs reflects their fortunes in the past few years, with Rangers playing in the lower divisions following their liquidation in 2012 and beset by boardroom turbulence since, while Celtic have enjoyed a number of relatively successful European campaigns and sold a number of players.
The report authors assessed how the equity markets react to the match performance of the 17 publicly-listed football clubs through stock price movements and built a picture of how the market perceives a club's credit.Of the 17, it claimed, Celtic were the least likely to default and their "status as perennial title contenders and their recent success in winning the Scottish Premier League for the last three seasons has apparently led to a positive market sentiment".
Pavle Sabic, director of Credit Market Development at S&P Capital IQ, part of McGraw Hill Financial, said: "Especially since the 2014 World Cup, 'following the team' has taken on a whole new meaning as foreign billionaire owners, bank lenders, large corporate investors, and even day- trading stock pickers are monitoring the share price and financial standing of clubs.
"Our credit indicators provide investors with a set of essential signals to monitor improving or declining credit strength in football clubs."
Arsenal scored highly due to "consistent match performance and increased revenue from the Emirates Stadium", as well as conservative control of finances, while Juventus bounced back from a poor rating following their match-fixing relegation to one of the best after successive title successes.
All 44 clubs, reflecting a north/south European divide, were assessed against 24 different criteria ranging from performance, transfers, ownership model, debt structure, match attendance and fan spend.
Stuart Macdougall, senior manager at PWC, said: "The credit score results come as no surprise in light of recent events surrounding the Glasgow club's. Despite the absence of the Old Firm fixture in recent seasons Celtic have continued to demonstrate financial stability and low debt.
"There is no guarantee of top flight football for Rangers next season, a high cost base to service and rising debt leaves them in a very unenviable position to their great rivals."
He added that the Ibrox club needed a return to the SPFL and a flood of home-grown talent.
Celtic and Rangers were unavailable for comment.
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