€5m or €15.6m - How Rangers can earn bumper financial boost and scenario if they don't get play-off bonus

Rangers are just 180 minutes away from a return to the Champions League group stage.

Following defeat in the third qualifying round to Malmo 12 months ago, the club’s absence from Europe’s premier competition proper stretched to 11 seasons.

Rangers produced a memorable comeback against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise last night, winning 3-0 to overturn a 2-0 loss in Belgium in the first-leg.

They will now face a PSV Eindhoven side who came through against Monaco over two-legs, the first of which is at Ibrox next Tuesday.

Rangers knew going into the game with Union SG that they were guaranteed Europa League group stage football no matter the result.

Not only will Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men have the safety net of the Europa League, where the club have thrived in recent seasons, if they were to come unstuck against the Dutch giants but they are also ensured of a €5million bonus for reaching the Champions League play-off stage.

They will receive that prize money for dropping into the Europa League.

Rangers, however, won’t want it.

Rangers are 180 minutes from the Champions League group stages. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

They wouldn’t be entitled to it if they were to defeat PSV across the two-legged tie and reach the Champions League group stage.

As per UEFA’s distribution note: “The winners of the play-offs will not receive any specific payment for this round as they will receive payments for participating in the UCL group stage.”

Instead, they would look forward to €15.64 in prize money for simply competing in the group stage.

On top of that they will get substantial income from TV revenue, ticket and commercial sales, plus €2.8million for every win and €900,000 for every draw in the group stage.

As things stands, if Rangers were to qualify, they would be alongside rivals Celtic in Pot 4 which will likely mean a very tough group which could be made up of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. There could also be the option of Eintracht Frankfurt, Sevilla and Sporting CP.

If, however, Benfica were to be beaten by Dynamo Kiev in the play-off round, Rangers would move to Pot 3.

A second-place finish would see the club net €9.6m, while a third-place finish would mean dropping into the Europa League.