Football finances are pulling the super-elite further away but there’s stories for Celtic to follow if they want to compete at the Champions League table.
Peter Lawwell conceded at the Premiership champions’ AGM that it was becoming harder and hard for them to compete in that arena. They will exit the tournament in Group E’s last spot after their home game with Feyenoord on Wednesday but fans have been left demanding their club to back Brendan Rodgers more in the market to enable him to compete more efficiently on the continent.
The man himself has said there is need for more “quality” within his ranks. But throughout the last nearly 10 years of Euro action since their last knockout round tie against Juventus – a run which includes no group stage win since 2017 and no win at home since 2013 – others have thrived on smaller budgets. Using Transfermarkt’s market value scale as a guide, with Celtic’s in at £114.8m by their estimations. here are seven clubs who have shown Champions League success IS achievable with a squad on a budget.
Dynamo Kyiv (2nd, 15/16)
A comparable story to Celtic? The Hoops might not have been involved in the group stage of the competition this season but the Ukrainian side came out second in a group with Chelsea, Porto and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Their squad market value in that season was £114.4m which is marginally short of what Celtic were running with this season. They were eventually knocked out by Man City 3-1 in the last 16 but held the emerging superpower to a 0-0 draw in the 2nd leg. Andriy Yarmalenko was the gem of the side that also included Younes Belhanda and Aleksandr Dragovic.
Gent (2nd, 15/16)
Another show of what can be achieved when competing as the underdog are the Belgian outfit. They suffered a defeat to Wolfsburg in the last 16 after a strong group stage showing displayed their potential on the continent. Zenit St Petersburg won their group but Gent edged out Valencia and Lyon to make their tie in Germany. They have been mainly in the Europa League and Europa Conference League since though which shows progress has not been maintained.
Gareth Bale of Real Madrid heads the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Real Madrid CF and Legia Warszawa at Bernabeu on October 18, 2016 (Image: Getty Images)
Legia Warsaw (3rd, 16/17)
With a squad with less value than anybody in this year’s competition, the Polish side showed football isn’t played on spreadsheets when tussling with some of European’s top giants. Real Madrid ran out as winners in the section but they still had Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon to contend with. A draw with Real Madrid proved key and win over Sporting got them over the line and into the Europa League. They were gutted to be put out by Ajax but the Dutch side did go all the way to the final that season. They had a squad value of £43.2m
FC Basel (2nd, 17/18)
It’s a tad harsh to include a nominee from the 17/18 campaign as Celtic did manage to get into the Europa League by finishing third in their Champions League group that term, even if it was courtesy of three points against Anderlecht. But Basel are one of the prime examples of success in the last decade for smaller clubs. On a squad value of £78m, they amassed 12 points in a group with with Man United, CSKA Moscow and Sporting Lisbon but Man City were a step too far at the last 16 phase.
Viktoria Plzen (3rd, 18/19)
They might not have made the last 16 frontier but getting seven points in this section was an achievement in itself for the Czech side. And they earned their spot in the Europa League in the process. They beat CSKA away and drew with them at home before stunning Roma on home soil to get into Europe beyond Christmas. Dinamo Zagreb swept them aside in the Europa League but on a squad value of £31m, they were underdogs in that competition too.
Sheriff Tiraspol (3rd, 21/22)
The ultimate underdog? You’d have to argue the case as the Moldovans turned one of the stories of the 21/22 season with their exploits in the group with Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Shakhtar Donetsk. They incredibly beat Los Blancos at the Bernabeu with a win and draw against Ukrainian opposition sending through to thee Europa League and a battle with Braga, who they took all the way to penalties. On a value of £26m compared to the billions of Madrid, it is one of European football’s modern David vs Goliath classics.
Norway’s Mohamed Elyounoussi celebrates after making it 3-3 (Image: SNS Group)
FC Copenhagen (2nd, 23/24)
The Danish side have got Celtic fans talking when it comes to progression. Involved in a group with Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Man United, the Danes have prevailed in second place to reach the last 16. Both the German giants and Red Devils are in the top six in terms of market value (£887m and £775m), dwarfing Copenhagen’s £57.1m. Only Young Boys have a smaller value and Celetic are way above them on £114.8m. Perhaps an extra slap in the face for the Hoops is Copenhagen’s most valuable outfield star is former Parkhead winger Mo Elyounoussi.
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