gimme gimme gimme!

Figures released by UEFA earlier this year reveal that Celtic were paid nearly £6.5 million in fees as a result of participating in the first group phase of the Champions League last season.

All of the participants in the last 32 received a payment of around 3 million Swiss Francs (nearly £1.4) million to kick them off and they were all handed a further three million Swiss Francs in match fees.

Further cash was then earned as performance bonuses depending on results. Celtic's fee of 1.5 million Swiss Francs (approximately £750,000) was collected thanks to the Hoops amassing nine points in their group.

Teams in the Champions League also collect a share of the market pool which is divided up according to television viewing figures and advertising exposure for the sponsors' products. Celtic received 6.8 million Swiss Francs from the kitty (around £2.9 million) which ranked them in 18th place in this particular league.

Although this figure is dwarfed by the team who gained most from the Market Pool - curiously this was Nantes Atlantique and not Real Madrid - who passed Go and collected the equivalent of £14 million for their efforts, it still meant that the Celtic accountant could sleep a bit easier than his counterparts at many a big name football club across the continent.

Teams from Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Norway and Eastern Europe seem to do particularly badly out of this pot, and even Porto, who qualified at Celtic's expense, made less money from the market pool in the first group phase.

Based on the published figures, qualification for the second group phase would have netted Celtic something in the region of £1.5 million in match fees, with an additional £75,000 per point in bonuses, plus an additional payment from the market pool.

If we take into consideration the two other European home ties Celtic participated in last season then the net revenue accrued thanks to this involvement in the exotic world of continental football must have been nearer £10 million than £5, a figure that David Murray churlishly sought to diminish as he departed out the door at Ibrox.

While there is obviously no substitute for participation in the Champions League, whatever way you look at it, at least Celtic's bank manager might be somewhat mollified with this season's four (and counting) home ties.

His Rangers equivalent, on the other hand, should probably be kept well away from sharp objects.

MANFRED 'MONEYBAGS' LURKER

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