Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed the revenue gap between St Johnstone and Celtic is more than 20 times bigger than the advantage Borussia Dortmund have over the Hoops.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were thumped 7-1 in the Champions League by last season’s finalists just days after a 6-0 win over Saints at McDiarmid Park in the Premiership.
In the wake of gloating from some Celts supporters, one St Johnstone fan asked The Price of Football author to compare the finances of the three clubs.
He wrote on X: “In terms of revenue, Dortmund have 2.9x the revenue of Celtic, who in turn generate 24.4x the revenue of St Johnstone.
“Dortmund’s wage bill is 3.4x that of Celtic, who spend 12.8x the wage bill of St Johnstone.
“Dortmund’s squad cost based on most recent accounts is 6.1x that of Celtic, whose squad cost 185.7x that of St Johnstone.”
‘Is there purpose?’
Maguire later told The Courier: “The results [on the park] are what you’d expect them to be.
“Everyone is punching at their weight. That’s what we expect to see.
“Anything other than a big victory for Celtic over St Johnstone is not a huge achievement.
“And you’d expect Dortmund to beat Celtic. The result is broadly in line with expectations.
“Because the gaps are so big you end up asking yourself, is there a lot of purpose in these competitions?
“You want to see progress.”
“With the new Champions League format, these scores will become more common.”
St Johnstone double winners praised
Football podcaster Maguire insists the gulf reinforces just how remarkable St Johnstone’s double-winning 2020/21 campaign was.
He says: “It’s the best achievement in Scottish football this century, from a contextual position.
“Anything other than Celtic winning is seen as a failure.
“What St Johnstone did that season was absolutely magnificent.”
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