Revealed! Where Celtic’s £59m wage bill places among Europa League last-32 rivals

Celtic face a mammoth task to taste Europa League success going by the wage bills of their rivals in the competition.

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Brendan Rodgers’ side return to European action this week when they welcome Valencia to Parkhead on Thursday for a mouth watering tie under the disco lights.

Despite being Europe’s secondary competition there are a number of elite teams standing in Celtic’s path, including Arsenal and Chelsea as well as Inter Milan, Napoli and Sevilla.

Analysis from respected football finance blogger Swiss Ramblehas revealed that Celtic’s annual wage bill is dwarfed by potential opponents in the competition.

Unsurprisingly, Premier League duo Arsenal and Chelsea have by far the highest wage bills at £223million and £244million respectively. Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen both pay more than £100million in wages annually.

Of the figures available, Celtic are 12th highest payers with a wage bill of £59million - taken from the club’s 2017/2018 accounts.

As per Valencia’s 2016/2017 accounts, the Spanish side’s wage bill is marginally more at £68million.

Celtic's wage bill is slightly lower than Europa League opponents Valencia. Picture: SNS/Paul Devlin

Celtic are positioned slightly higher in terms of revenue. Their £102million places them 11th out of the 32 teams. Yet, the gulf to those in the top three positions is huge.

Chelsea brought in £448million, Arsenal £389million and Inter Milan £249million.