Celtic’s annual financial reports always get people talking.
After Brendan Rodgers’ transfer demands weren’t met this summer, this was even more the case in their last update.
Michael Nicholson offered something of a recognition to supporters in a message included in the financial report, for the fact that the side was not adequately prepared for their disastrous Champions League qualifier against Kairat Almaty.
However, it’s a case of too little, too late in the eyes of many supporters. The report showed healthy profits and cash reserves, but that has only amplified the fans’ frustrations at transfer business.
However, one particular aspect of the report, which is linked to transfers has been highlighted by a football finance expert.
‘They’ve done this for a number of years now…’ financial expert on Celtic
The report examines the Hoops’ transfer business, which forms a crucial part of the club’s business model.
But when laying out the fees that they have paid, there is one unique approach that Celtic take.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Speaking to Celtic AM, AFP Football Correspondent Kieran Canning noted the ‘unusual’ way that Celtic lay out transfer fees.
Canning said: “You can see that they use amortisation on the books, and you can see that at some other points in the financial report.
“I think Celtic are a very unusual situation where they like to point out how much money they’ve spent on players. Quite often, if you look at other clubs’ annual reports, they’ll put the amortised figure in there, because it looks much less than the overall fee.
“It’s not just this year that they’ve wanted to get this out, they’ve done this for a number of years now.”
Amortisation is essentially a spreading out of a transfer fee over the length of a player’s contract. This is a common accounting technique used by clubs to spread transfer funds.
What Celtic’s motivation is for opting against this remains open for speculation.
How much will the Celtic board invest next year?
Despite a drastic difference in prize money between the two competitions, Celtic have claimed that the drop down to the Europa League did not change the club’s planning budget.
So how much money will the board cough up over the next year, and where will it go?
Given that Rodgers has said that he is open to staying at Celtic, a new contract for the Northern Irishman is surely a priority.
But it will take more than just money to convince the Hoops boss – fundamental change is surely needed to the club’s recruitment process.