Celtic spends more on wages than the entire budget of Slovan

A sporting celebration is just around the corner.

After a long 14-year wait, Slovak club football can once again present its representative in the most prestigious European club competition. ŠK Slovan Bratislava will play in the main phase of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. However, the “belasí” (the Blues) will start their dream competition in a tough environment — at the iconic Celtic Park, home to one of the most famous football brands in the British Isles, Celtic Glasgow. (...)

The financial resources available to Celtic’s management are above standard even for top clubs in our region. Because of this, today’s clash can be seen, economically, as a meeting of two worlds.

“Financially, I think the difference between Slovan and Celtic is even more striking than from a sporting perspective. If we go back to 2005, when Artmedia Bratislava eliminated Celtic and later held their own in two games against another Scottish giant, Glasgow Rangers, the budget difference was enormous even then. But on the pitch, that did not show in favour of the Scots,” said football analyst Jozef Tokos in an interview with Economic Daily.

It would be great if a similar scenario repeated itself this Wednesday evening. On paper, the predictions favor the home team. Celtic’s squad is valued at €119 million — more than the entire Niké league combined. In 2019, Celtic even ranked 30th on the prestigious Football Benchmark list, with an Enterprise Value of a quarter of a billion euros — a historic achievement as it was the first time the Scottish club appeared among the richest football clubs worldwide.

“Celtic’s management evidently does a good job long-term. Besides sporting success, the club has not been associated with any financial fair play violations. They also apply a sensible transfer policy,” added Tokos.

Vladimír Weiss’s team has often surprised their favored opponents. Will the Blues score points in the Champions League right from the start?