Rangers report £5.9m profit after run to Europa League final

Rangers have reported a £5.9m profit after publishing their accounts for last season, detailing record player sales and a rise in revenue partly down to the run to the Europa League final.

The Ibrox club has pointed to a significant upturn in the club’s financial performance compared to an operating loss of £23.5m the previous year, with chairman Douglas Park saying that Rangers is “continuing to grow stronger as a club”.

The report shows a club record turnover of £86.8m for the year to June, and the operating profit of £5.9m, being an improvement of £27.6m on the previous year’s figure.

Over the last 12 months, Rangers received compensation for the departure of manager Steven Gerrard and his coaching staff to Aston Villa, and also broke their record for player sales, with Nathan Patterson moving to Everton, Joe Aribo leaving for Southampton, and Calvin Bassey joining Ajax, all for significant fees.

Aribo and Bassey’s departures were after the reporting period and will be included in next year’s accounts.

The club also reported that during the year to June, Rangers raised new equity of £10.1m and took on new debt of £3.6m.

In his comments, club chairman Park noted achievements on the field, with the men’s team winning the Scottish Cup as well as reaching the Europa League final, while the women’s team won the SWPL title for the first time.

Park said that the club’s position was improving but that he believes it is still in the middle of “a recovery project”.

“The past year has provided many highs and lows, along with challenges both on and off the park, but ultimately, I believe we are continuing to grow stronger as a club,” he wrote.

“This time last year, I repeated my belief from 2015 when this current board took control of the club, that this would be a ten-year recovery project.

“While there have been moments in the last year that have exceeded both my own and the board’s expectations (with specific reference to the Europa League run to the final) we cannot, and will not, stand still and continue to have so much more to do.

“Assisting us on that path are our strong executive team and talented staff both at Ibrox and at the Rangers Training Centre. Rangers was created by four pioneers, and it should be and is the aim of every single employee of the club to continue in that spirit.”

Van Bronckhorst and Wilson’s achievements praised

While manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is currently under pressure after recent performances and results, including a Champions League campaign that set a record for worst performance, Park praised the Dutchman for his achievements last season.

Club sporting director Ross Wilson has also been the subject of criticism from fans over recent recruitment but Park highlighted two record player sales as evidence that the club’s approach to the transfer market was proving successful.

Park said: “Beginning on the pitch, we appointed Giovanni van Bronckhorst as our football manager last November. As well as delivering us the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years he also, as I touched on earlier, gave the club a thrilling European journey where we came within a kick of winning only our second European trophy.

“This season, under Gio’s leadership, he and the players returned us to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 12 years by navigating two difficult qualifying rounds in August.

“Our ‘player trading model’ is something your board mention on a number of occasions. On joining the club, Ross Wilson, our Sporting Director, was mandated by the board to build a modern football department.

“Player trading success was essential to this, as it is a key revenue stream for the majority of European clubs. We are pleased that in the last twelve months, we have achieved two club record sales through our player recruitment and player development processes.”