Nicholson and Peter Lawwell understand where the fans are coming from despite the club posting more huge financial figures
19:44, 19 Sep 2025Updated 19:46, 19 Sep 2025
Under-fire Celtic chiefs insist they understand fan rage after announcing record revenue returns and almost £80m in the bank.
Hoops chairman Peter Lawwell and chief exec Michael Nicholson made lengthy statements as part of the Parkhead club’s annual financial figures released on Friday night.
Celt revealed historic turnover totals up £20m to £142m – and also highest ever transfer spend with £42m stumped up over the last 12 months.
The Scottish champs made post tax profit of £33m with £77.3m in the coffers, up from £77.2m last year.
Lawwell and Nicholson have been in the firing line with fans over dithering over transfers over the summer – with supporters groups uniting to issue a vote of no confidence in the board amid a late walk in protest at Rugby Park last weekend.
The leadership duo defended the club’s spending – but held their hands up over the stumbling over signings.
Lawwell said: “The Board shares the ambition of our supporters to see the strongest possible team on the pitch and will continue to balance short-term performance with long-term financial stability, and we must factor in the long-term implications of all decisions made today.
“This strategy is vital to Celtic and has been pivotal to our success over the last 20 years.
“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.”
Celtic non-executive chairman Peter Lawwell(Image: Getty Images)
Lawwell also revealed Celtic’s wage bill is now at unprecedented levels due to the ramp up in recruitment from last summer – with the record breaking arrivals of Adam Idah and then Arne Engels.
Idah has since departed for £6m while Nicolas Kuhn departed in a £17m deal with Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Seb Tounekti arriving for a combined £10m.
Chief exec Nicholson admitted Celts FAILED in their Champions League goal and with their transfer targets and vowed to make improvements behind the scenes.
He said: “Our objective each year is to compete in the Champions League.
“As a Board, we take responsibility for the failure to achieve that key objective and commit to improving going forward.
“Aligned to our core objective of competing in the Champions League is successful player trading. Last year, we invested record sums between transfer fees and first team player wages.
“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.”
Celtic invested in their Barrowfield training centre and upgrades to the first team base at Lennoxtown.
And Lawwell revealed the Hoops have spent almost £80m on players in the last three seasons.
He added: “Despite these strong earnings, year-end cash remained broadly flat at £77.3m (2024: £77.2m). During the year we invested heavily in the first team, both by way of player transfers and wages along with infrastructure across our estate.
“First team labour costs were the highest levels in the history of the Club.
“In total and including committed agent fees, £42.6m was invested in player acquisitions during the year, more than doubling the prior year spend, marking the highest single-season investment in the club’s history including twice breaking the club transfer record.
“As a result, the carrying value of the squad is the highest it has been in the history of the club. Over the past three years to 30 June 2025, total investment in player registrations including committed agent fees has totalled £77.5m.”