Rangers’ £16m Share Issue: A Last-Chance Bid To Bridge The Gap With Celtic?

Rangers are moving to raise £16 million through a new share issue, with the money set aside specifically to back Danny Rohl’s squad. Keith Wyness, the veteran football executive who led Aberdeen, Everton, and Aston Villa, spoke to Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast about why this move is so critical. Wyness, who now consults for elite clubs, believes Rangers are at a rare turning point in their rivalry with Celtic.

He told Football Insider that the club are making a massive push and simply has to get it right, as this may be the last real chance to tap into funding on this scale. He noted that the 49ers Enterprises group has already put roughly £36 million into the club, meaning this latest raise takes their total spend to about £52 million.

While acknowledging that Celtic still boast a much larger bank balance, a constant frustration for the Ibrox faithful, he insisted that Rangers cannot afford to wait any longer. With Rohl in the dugout, Wyness feels the fans finally have a manager they trust, making this the right time to fund a serious long-term plan.

“Rangers are making a big push forward now, and they’ve got to get this right, because this will be the last chance really to go to the well for resources like this.

“They know that Celtic are sitting there with a big bank balance, which has always been what the fans have moaned about, but still Rangers have to be there and compete now.

“With Danny Rohl, they seem to have found a manager that the fans are starting to get behind and believe in.

“So it probably is the right time to try and give it a go now if Rangers can get it stable behind the scenes and give Rohl the resources to actually execute a properly thought-through strategic plan.”

Can £16 Million Actually Change the Financial Equation for Rangers?

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – JANUARY 03: Danny Rohl, Head Coach of Rangers, shows appreciation to the fans after the team’s victory in the Premier League match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on January 03, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

This money alone won’t close the gap, but it matters for reasons beyond just new signings. Rangers are currently three points behind league leaders Hearts with seven games left, while Celtic sit two points further back in third. This table displays to us a financial reality as much as a sporting one, and that is winning the title gives Rangers a shot at the Champions League, which is a competition that earned Celtic nearly £40 million in a single recent season. The divide isn’t just about squad quality, but it’s a cycle of revenue that Rangers have struggled to keep up with for years.

Wyness didn’t just praise the share issue; he set conditions. He pointed out that while Rangers lost £600,000 on player sales last season, Celtic turned a £31.5 million profit. He argues the club must adopt a Brighton-style model, signing younger players to sell for a profit later.

Ultimately, £16 million buys a window or two of progress, but it doesn’t fix the underlying finances. With Scotland now 18th in the UEFA rankings, the European safety net is shrinking. Chairman Andrew Cavenagh’s initiative provides a lifeline, but unless new CEO Jim Gillespie can boost commercial income and transfer profits, this risks being a one-time fix rather than a path to self-sufficiency.