How Rangers could use 49ers cash vault including summer bankrolling and major exit

Rangers are facing up to the prospect of being bankrolled by the cash-rich San Francisco 49ers in the near future - but UEFA guidelines could have a major impact on the club’s potential spending power in the transfer market.

It was revealed earlier this week that Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe and 49ers Enterprises have launched a multi-million pound takeover bid of the crisis-hit Light Blues after a US-led consortium held secret high-profile discussions over recent months, with those talks now understood to have reached an advanced stage.

Should a lucrative investment deal be pushed through, a door would be open to a valuable relationship with the NFL franchise - and already has supporters aiming high in terms of identifying lofty targets that could help bring silverware back to Govan.

Legendary ex-Rangers boss Graeme Souness insisted the gap between the Ibrox side and Celtic wasn’t too big at the start of the campaign - admitting that his old club would need to splash out £50 million on up to four quality additions.

Speaking in the wake of the 3-0 Old Firm defeat at the hands of Brendan Rodgers' side back in September Souness stated: “Right now, there is gap between Rangers and Celtic, but it’s not insurmountable. Three or four quality signings could make the difference, but Rangers don’t have the money right now. If they were to spend £50 million, it’d be nip and tuck between the two of them.”

However, UEFA's financial sustainability regulations that were introduced two years ago could have an impact on the Gers potential spending power. European football's governing body make compliance a condition of playing in their competitions.

Currently, Scottish Premiership clubs face squad-cost controls when it comes to spending on player/coach wages, transfers and agents fees is restricted this season to 80% of a team’s revenue. This is expected to drop to 70% of their income over a single calendar year by the summer.

Football finance expert and co-host of the Price of Football podcast Kieran Maguire said of the rules and the impact on top-flight clubs next season to the Daily Mail: “What UEFA have said is that, for every £100 that Rangers or Celtic generate from ticket sales, TV money and commercial deals plus the average of their player sales from the last three years they can then spend in this calendar year £80 of that on player costs.

'Player costs are wages, agents fees and transfer fees amortised. If Rangers sign a player for £10m on a four-year contract, they have £2.5m costs going into the accounts every year on that player. When Rangers won the Premiership (in 2021) and qualified for the Champions League, with television money on the back of that, they narrowed the gap. 'But they had to keep moving forward and they didn't.

“I have no partisan position in this and it's clear that Celtic have moved ahead. How Rangers catch up is now the question. I think it needs Celtic to do a lot of things wrong and Rangers to do an awful lot right at the same time before the gap can be eliminated.”

With manager Philippe Clement likely to be sacked by Rangers, with his squad struggling to keep pace with the Hoops at the top of the Premiership table, a cash injection could also lead them to sell some of their prized assets with the likes of Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane expected to attract big money amid interest from a host of Premier League sides..

In other news: Philippe Clement throws Rangers sacking gauntlet to Patrick Stewart and board as he issues six word statement