By James Farquharson

This year’s revamp of European football came with a lot of uncertainty for clubs, players and fans. It was brought in to benefit many financially, but no one really knew to what extent.

Many wondered what it would look like and how it would affect their team. For the three Scottish clubs in this year's competitions, the financial gains they could make compared to recent years are staggering.

With Celtic and Rangers both pulling through to the knockout stages of their respective competitions it has been a very successful start for Scotland's giants.

Celtic picked up three wins and three draws in their Champions League phase campaign which concluded in Birmingham where they lost 4-2 to Aston Villa. So far Celtic have managed to earn £26.4M from participation, placement, and result prize money.

Adam Idah celebrating against Aston Villa (Andrew Kearns-CameraSport via Gettyimages)

This has surpassed last year's £16.4M from the old four-team format. This doesn’t include the money they made from TV revenue plus the extra home game they have benefited from. £5.8M came from TV revenue which is more than they made domestically in their treble-winning season two years back, which raised £4.1M.

And yet, Celtic aren’t the only Scottish side to benefit from the new format. Rangers have made a very healthy amount considering they have dropped down the European leagues from the Champions League to the Europa League.

The financial gap from the two competitions is massive but due to the new format, it is clear Rangers have dropped down at the right time as the Europa League is making more than ever.

Rangers so far have made £4.9M for participation and results; they are still to find out their final placement where they face Belgian outfit Union St. Gilloise at Ibrox which could bolster that tally up if things go their way.

Cyriel Dessers celebrating against Manchester United (Carl Recine via Gettyimages)

They also have made a big profit from both TV revenue and the extra home game they will host. This certainly isn’t more than in recent years although that is down to the teams' results in the competition compared to recent years.

When Rangers reached the Europa League final in 2022, they made over £30.5M from prize money and matchday revenue. This shows that although there is more money in European football than ever before Rangers will have to perform and earn the money for themselves and if they do it could prove to be massive.

The two Glasgow giants are dominant when it comes to finances in Scotland, but the new format gives hope to the best of the rest in Scotland's topflight.

The money that teams like Hearts, Aberdeen, and Hibernian will earn if they were to make one of the European competitions could be extremely rewarding and improve the standard of the Scottish game.

Hearts were knocked out of the Europa Conference league in this year's group phase following disappointing results at home and on the road to the likes of Cercle Brugge and Heidenham and exited the competition making around £3.4M from participation and result-based prize money.

Blair Spittal celebrating against FC Petrocub (Ian MacNicol via Gettyimages)

Although TV and matchday revenue will have increased drastically this year the side from the Capital will be disappointed that they couldn’t capitalize on their opportunity in Europe this year. In the 2023/24 season Hearts earned £20M in revenue with everything included so with the addition of European football this season they are well on track to overturning way more money than they did the previous season which will bring them a steady increase financially. However, with them in a bad position domestically sitting just above the relegation zone it appears they won’t be getting a sniff of the new format again any time soon.

The new format raised a few eyebrows at first with many fearing that it would ruin the competitions and tarnish their reputation. However, the benefits for any team that takes part will have opened the eyes of many who are now watching their team become bigger and better than ever. There is no doubt that due to the revamp in European football and the money that can be earned, Scotland's best will be better equipped to compete in Europe.

How the new UEFA formats can transform Scottish football