MARK Warburton last night predicted the huge sums of money being invested in football will lead to the creation of a world super league in the near future – and revealed he wants Rangers to be a part of it.
Warburton has brought high-profile players Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar as well as promising youngsters Joe Dodoo and Jordan Rossiter to Ibrox this summer to bolster his side’s bid to win the Ladbrokes Premiership.
However, the 53-year-old believes it will become increasingly difficult for the Glasgow club to operate successfully in the transfer market in the seasons to come due to the wages being offered by their counterparts down south.
Read more: Niko Kranjcar proved nothing against the minnows of Peterhead but at least it's a start
The former City of London trader anticipates that Rangers will have to leave their domestic league in order to compete with English and European clubs for players - and he reckons that opportunity will become available to them.
"There is just way too much money in the game and it's not going to stop,” he said. “The bubble is not going to burst. The cycle had just started. AC Milan was sold for three quarters of a billion Euros to China, in the same week as West Brom. Wolves went too.
Read more: Niko Kranjcar proved nothing against the minnows of Peterhead but at least it's a start
“In three or four years’ time, we are going to see a completely different game. Manchester United will be playing whoever in whatever city. European leagues will change, there will be world leagues. Premier League teams will be playing the likes of Boca Juniors and River Plate.
"We have to be part of that. Every club has to look at the best they can do. The game is changing in every way, that is my opinion. We’ve got to get more money in by TV, sponsorship, by improving the quality of product.”
Warburton added: “We need to raise investment or else in two years we will still be sitting here moaning about the state of the game. We’ve got to find a way of making the quality of product better. Obviously I can’t reveal specifics, but some of the deals (in England) you would not believe.
“Someone said to me the other week ‘what are Bournemouth doing spending that much money on two Liverpool fringe players?’ That is how they described it. Staying in the Premier League – that’s what they are doing.
“All credit to Eddie Howe and Bournemouth. They were magnificent last year. They had a proper go and stayed in the Premier League because the rewards are enormous. Premier League spending this week was just shy of £600m - before the Paul Pogba deal.”
Dave King, the Rangers chairman and major shareholder, confirmed at the weekend that Warburton would be able to strengthen his squad further this summer and again during the January transfer window.
However, the manager, whose summer signing spree has been aided considerably by head of recruitment Frank McParland, is concerned about how difficult it will become to lure players to Scotland as the gap in resources with England widens in the seasons to come.
"As time goes on, it will become harder to attract quality players,” he said. “Joe Dodoo is a great signing for us. Matt Crooks and Josh Windass too.
Read more: Niko Kranjcar proved nothing against the minnows of Peterhead but at least it's a start
"But don't forget that you are taking a risk when you sign any young player. That's when we need to trust our judgement, do our homework and look to guys like Frank. But this is a huge problem in football and it can't be ignored.
“You can say the funds are there, and the backing we’ve had from the chairman and board has been first class, but the market is constantly moving north.
“You look at the money down south and what’s being paid down south and how it impacts here. It’s not just impacting one way in terms of us going down there, it’s impacting them coming up here as well.
“You’re getting a situation where League One clubs are coming and bidding significantly into seven figures for Scottish players. It’s a changing market. You’re going to have Championship clubs quiet casually spend seven, eight, ten million pounds on players and it’s happening all the time.
Read more: Niko Kranjcar proved nothing against the minnows of Peterhead but at least it's a start
“So look at what’s happening down south and everyone is ignoring it. Look at the Asian buyers coming into the market and how that’s going to change. People say it won’t impact Scotland, but it will have a massive impact on Scotland if we’re not careful because it will hit us sooner or later.”
Warburton added: “We went after a couple of players who we found out were in excess of 25-30 grand a week and there’s a clutch of eight to 10 clubs prepared to pay full wages. It’s incredible. You can’t just mock it or sneer at it. It’s fact.
“It can be done. There is money available, but it’s not easy. Everyone just thinks go and get this player – a six foot four centre half, who can play out from the back and can read the game really well. That’s great but they’re on £150,000 a week. That’s the fact of it.”
Warburton brought in Dominic Ball from Spurs and Gedion Zelalem from Arsenal on loan last season and admitted he could look to sign players on a temporary basis again this season. However, he revealed that signing players on short-term deals was also proving increasingly difficult.
"We are waiting for the 25-man squads for loans deals but even they are not as easy as they were,” he said. “You have 21-year-old players on up to £25k a week. That is fact.”
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