Graeme Souness says Celtic and Rangers could share a new 100,000-seater stadium

Robert Redmond

“I would have them down here in a heartbeat.”

Graeme Souness has said that if Celtic and Rangers build a shared 100,000-seater stadium and joined the Premier League, their fortunes would greatly increase.

Former Rangers manager Souness was speaking about the performances of the two Scottish sides in the Champions League this season.

Celtic and Rangers have found life difficult in Europe’s elite club competition. Neither have won a game in the tournament this season, and both are set to finish bottom of their respective groups.

Graeme Souness: Celtic and Rangers should build a joint stadium and join the Premier League.

Souness has suggested that the two Glasgow sides could improve their long-term prospects by joining the Premier League, an idea that has long been spoken about but never close to happening.

The Sky Sports pundit said that neither club can compete on the highest stage due to the paltry sums they receive in television money.

“It’s been a dire Champions League campaign for the two Glasgow clubs, who so far have mustered just four goals and two points between them from ten games,” Souness wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

“It’s such a disappointment for Scottish football but people ask me why they are uncompetitive and I will tell you.

“I live in Bournemouth where the football club has an 11,000-seat stadium, but manages to play in the Premier League on the back of annual TV income upwards of £90m.

“Celtic and Rangers are huge clubs with massive fanbases and capacities in excess of 50,000 but their TV money is a tiny fraction of that, only about £2m or £3m a year. So there is your answer.”

That incredible, poignant Celtic tribute to the Creeslough 💚 pic.twitter.com/pud66D4iU5

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 11, 2022

Souness, however, also made a strange claim about the two Glasgow clubs.

The former Liverpool manager suggested that Rangers and Celtic, two bitter rivals, could build a new shared stadium, which would help them become ‘progressive top-half clubs’ in the Premier League.

“If the two Glasgow clubs agreed to build a 100,000 stadium to share and they joined our Premier League they would soon be progressive top half clubs.