When the new Champions League format was announced some years ago, we wondered where it could move the income dial for Celtic. The answer for the year to 30 June 2025 turned out to be a 15% uplift on the previous term, to a staggering £143.6m. Despite this, year-end cash balance was almost unchanged, at £77.3m (up just £100k).
This reflects the largest investment in player acquisition in our history – £38.6m – as well as the major infrastructure investment at Barrowfield. After-tax profit was an eye-watering £33.9m, a figure which could remain a highpoint for a long time.
Operational expenses – the cost of running the club out-with player trading – was £117m. That is only £6.5m more than the previous year’s turnover, a season which included old-format Champions League revenue. This year, income will be lower than last year’s costs. Don’t misconstrue this, we are in a very comfortable position, but we are running hot. This level of expenditure is unsustainable without Champions League football.
In a change of tone from last week’s statement, chief executive Michael Nicholson wrote, “As a Board, we take responsibility for the failure to achieve [Champions League football] and commit to improving going forward.” This message should been front and centre of the earlier statement. A bit of contrition goes a long way.
All that cash is a burden to a football club which fails to use it. Fans buy tickets with an expectation their money will be spent (I was told that by a former chief exec). One of the board’s primary tasks is to fulfil this expectation, without destabilising finances when income is so dependent on qualifiers played in August.
Looking from the outside in, these things look straightforward. Whether that is the case or not, is immaterial to most fans. The frustration many will feel at reading such spectacularly successful financial results, just weeks after the Kairat defeat, is understandable. The positive is, we get to go again. Learn, switch-up and lean into that cash balance.
156 Comments- Pages:
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The Blogger Formerly Known As GM on 20th September 2025 5:53 pm
Hard to imagine there’s Celtic fans out there hoping Celtic Park looks like Mordor this evening during our Europa campaign.
Strange times indeed.
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After the club spends the highest amount ever on incoming players we should have a boycott of games and merchandise, thereby reducing the club’s revenue/income. And the point of the exercise? To get the club to spend more with less.
The hard of learning clearly haven’t digested the accounts. We are already sailing close to the financial wind and with no CL income the last thing we need is a bloody boycott.
Yep, can’t see him being sacked if they win which is good news.
Hibs have had 3-4 decent chances and should have scored 2 goals.
man u : chelsea – should be good- 2-2 going into the second half, both are a man down
Man Utd 2-0 Chelsea
In addition to the CEO quote in the lead article, he also said
“This year, regretfully we did not achieve all of our objectives in the transfer window. We share and understand our supporters’ disappointment and frustration, and we will continue to seek to review and improve our strategy and execution as the market continues to evolve.”
And
“We recognise and share the frustration and disappointment of our supporters with respect to the timing of some of the incoming acquisitions. We will always look to improve how we operate and overcome challenges where possible”
So, the strategy, the execution and the timing of our recruitment? As the more discerning malcontents have been saying since the window opened.
No-one (hopefully) suggesting we spend more than we should. However, we have to be better.
Strategy, execution and timing.
Well said, CEO
Denia – yep, could easily have been 2-0 Hibs. Might still be interesting if they can get back to 2-1.
Bhoys Town – indeed, won’t it be great if a successful Europa boycott can augment the drop in revenue from non-participation in the CL such that we can burn a big hole in the cash balance by using it to plug loses on the P&L 🤔
back to that old chestnut of teams making it to the last 5 minutes of the first half against the hun, then conceding.
hate that.
Yep, and poor goals to lose they were!
was doon local shop there, returned to car and had radio on as they scored their 2nd.
a car full of young zombies pulled up, they were bumping their gums about the protest, ultimately they had went up, shouted and didnt go in the match.
btw, i do not think this game is finished.
fecking racists flags going up everywhere, gtf.
The Celtic Fans Collective
we have a name.
https://x.com/CFC_Collective/status/1969407542854836475
These chancers seem a bit too positive for my liking.
Probably “trying to keep in with Peter Lawwell”.
https://youtu.be/5flk87HHNmw?si=QHsmqnRGXwSE5lxg
Truth is we have saw 12.5 million spent in fustructure and 12.5 million in tax, likely around 4 million in champions league bonuses. Excuses are not being trotted out by folk who should know better.
Sure we will not turn over 145 million next financial year but then we will not make 30+ million profit so we will not be spending 12.5 million in tax, we will not be spending 12.5 million in onfustructure work and bonuses for champions league participation will not be paid.
We should be spending income in the bank on fanzone/ barn, museum, superstore, bar/ cafe etc to help lift the revenue by a few million a year.
HH
12.5 million tax but no starting right winger
23 representatives, but no place for the North America or Internation supporters,
if you are going to have that big spread of coverage, then why not a few more.
The irony of Raskin keeping Martin in his job
big thanks due to the hibees – looks like they’ll be keeping curtains in his job
Stephenbhoyboy on 20th September 2025 7:29 pm
12.5 million tax but no starting right winger
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I despair when Celtic supporters do not want to pay tax on profits.
nothing to do with a player, they didnt get one for whatever reason.
do you pay tax on your earnings ? dsoes your employer ?
I really dislike them winning. Their guy will come good. Losing would have cost them potentially £9-9m with pay offs and revenue from Europa sales and League Cup semi shared pot.
I can’t understand why any Celtic fan would see their winning as a good thing.
i think the point someone made was that if we had spent some of that cash to buy players then we wouldnt have needed to pay as much tax because we wouldnt have had as much cash.
not sure if that is right or wrong from a tax point of view but i dont think they were suggesting we dont pay tax on our profits.
That lot are the only team we have not beaten domestically over 90 minutes in the past 12 months. Not in 5 attempts. Despite their being a basket case.
“ease past Hibs”.
Didn’t watch the second half, but it could easily have been 2-0 Hibs in the first so they must have been rampant for Shortie to write that🤔
Out of curiosity, does the home cup ticket scheme boycott extend to games at Hampden for semi-finals/finals or is it only Celtic Park?
lets all do the huddle on 20th September 2025 7:51 pm
i think the point someone made was that if we had spent some of that cash to buy players then we wouldnt have needed to pay as much tax because we wouldnt have had as much cash.
not sure if that is right or wrong from a tax point of view but i dont think they were suggesting we dont pay tax on our profits.
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i keep saying it.
to minimise corporation tax we need to forecast what profit we might have in the financial year, and plan to spend it IN ADVANCE. Having missed much of the cummer window , our next chance to buy a right winger, or indeed a left back, a centre forward . a right back, , well that is January.
Last years tax liabilty was to year30th June 2025.
whisper it, by not increasing the bank balance, the PLC can argue, we spentall the money we could from the revenues coming in,
paying tax, it is all a timing thing, even i have to pay my tax and i am a poor pensioner.
summer window, dearie me.
our next chance to buy a right winger, or indeed a left back, a centre forward . a right back, , well that is January.
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looking forward to “its not easy to get good players in the january transfer window” getting an airing at the start of february
“cummer window”
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were you in Bonnie Blue’s Bang Bus in Govan last weekend?
you took that too far
vic and bob csc
lets all do the huddle on 20th September 2025 8:21 pm
our next chance to buy a right winger, or indeed a left back, a centre forward . a right back, , well that is January.
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looking forward to “its not easy to get good players in the january transfer window” getting an airing at the start of february
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it is though, buy players in january with the intention of champions league qualifiers.
so that they are already in, and those that want to leave leave.
Come January, we’ll be told we need to keep the money for the new gaffer.
New gaffer comes in just in time to say hello & goodbye to AJ, Hatate & Maeda.
We’re knocked out of the CL in July and we’re told the qualifiers just came too soon for us…
An Dún on 20th September 2025 9:00 pm
New gaffer comes in just in time to say hello & goodbye to AJ, Hatate & Maeda.
*you could put your hoose on that possibly tae Robin Hood country, mibbees that’s why we are bigging up young Donovan
Saint Stivs @ 7:22pm
Thank you for link.
I’d very much like to see some culture change at board level plus much better comms & engagement …. AND a NED refresh.
Having read the tweet I don’t believe this group will be successful.
The old SMART objectives spring to mind, in particular (A)chievable.
Remove all 3 of the CEO, CFO and Chairman of an incredibly successful PLC ?
Respectfully folks, dream on.
A sound bite. Nothing more ….
Recent horse manure posted on here about how the common man can topple governments springs to mind.
IMHO, named NEDs being targeted for removal would have been far more resonant.
And a 23 person steering group?
Good luck with that.
Imagine you spent the day on CQN highlighting “pointless pish”?
You’d be a busy man.
LETS ALL DO THE HUDDLE on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2025 4:31 PM
“Folk seem to think that clubs don’t pay bills and that our Reserves would magically be over £100m at the end of June.”
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media-style pointless pish comment from your man on SC.
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AN DÚN on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2025 8:55 PM
Come January, we’ll be told we need to keep the money for the new gaffer.
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AN DÚN on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2025 9:00 PM
New gaffer comes in just in time to say hello & goodbye to AJ, Hatate & Maeda.
We’re knocked out of the CL in July and we’re told the qualifiers just came too soon for us…
“*you could put your hoose on that possibly tae Robin Hood country, mibbees that’s why we are bigging up young Donovan”.
“We”?
Who’s that then?
Heaven forbid “we” all want a young talent to come through.
Pointless pish?
Steering group = Diversity Qwango = Doomed.
a lot of comments getting muddled up there with dodgy copy and pasting.
i used the phrase ‘pointless pish’ earlier, but it had nothing to do with young Donovan
A few months break is good for the soul
God bless our Brendan
God bless Peter Lawell
And .. god bless CQN … what have I missed
23 person steering group will splinter into the People’s Front of Judea and the Judean Peoples Front in no time.
Are the supporters group jealous of what the soo side wearra have done and want our club governance to followfollow the same downward spiral path.
Let me get this straight. You want to withhold money so that the board need to cut the playing staff and cut the very high wage bill. The demand is that you, the people who buys the pies, deserve better and that Celtic cannot fail in the transfer market, or lose or draw a game, ever again. Easy should work a treat. While you are at it sort out peace in the Middle East, the Ukraine invasion, Trump and Xi Jinping. Global warming if you get a chance.
GFTB the left back crisis has resurrected but at least that’s about football. New bhoys haven’t been escape goated yet so that’s a plus. Kevin has morphed into dozens of monikers, where does he get the energy from, some drugs he’s on. Still all mental on here. Hope you enjoyed your break. It’s all fun until someone loses an eye so don’t bite.