Celtic dominate Rangers by £100m in 10 most expensive players in Scottish football history

Jota’s transfer from Celtic to Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia at the start of the week was the latest big money move in Scottish football.

The Portuguese winger left the Scottish champions for the Saudi Pro League champions in a deal for £25million. While his former club Benfica are due a cut of the transfer fee, it represents a significant profit for a player bought for £6.5million 12 months ago.

He is the latest big-money transfer to Saudi Arabia and he may not be the only player from the Scottish Premiership to move there with Rangers duo Scott Wright and James Tavernier linked with a reunion with Steven Gerrard who has taken over at Al-Ettifaq.

Encouragingly, it is another significant fee received by a Scottish club and equals the record sale when Kieran Tierney moved from Celtic to Arsenal. Last season’s treble winners dominate the top 10 sales with eight players sold for £10million or more, all in the last ten years. Those individuals have brought in more than £130million.

As well as Jota and Tierney, Celtic have sold Moussa Dembélé (just under £20million), Odsonne Edouard (£14million), Kristoffer Ajer (£13.5million), Victor Wanyama (£12.5million), Virgil van Dijk (£11.5million) and Fraser Forster (£10million).

Celtic have developed a strong player trading model. It is something Rangers are looking to implement. They have two players in the top ten sales, both being sold in 2022. Nathan Patterson brought in £11.5million and Calvin Bassey nearly £20million.

The only player bought by a Scottish club for more than £10million was Tore Andre Flo, who joined Rangers in 2000 for £12million. One of five of the top ten record signings in Scottish football from the early 2000s.

As for other clubs around Scotland, they are increasingly looking to extract maximum value for their talent. Aberdeen and Hibs have sold a number of stars in recent seasons for seven-figure fees, most recently Kevin Nisbet to Millwall. Perhaps what is a more valuable addition is a sell-on clause or add-ons. The Dons have benefited from Scott McKenna’s promotion to the Premier League with Aberdeen, while the Pittodrie side and Hibs could be set for a windfall if Lewis Ferguson and/or Josh Doig are sold by their Serie A clubs this summer.