Celtic have been named among the top club transfer models in Europe, according to a new report from the CIES Football Observatory.
The Parkhead hierarchy have become known for their shrewd player trading model, which has led to significant profits in recent times, despite some criticism from fans.
Record sales and profitable exits
The CIES study examined clubs that have been best at adding value to their players over the last five years, a period that includes the bumper paydays for the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer.
In that time, Celtic broke their record for a player sale twice, with Matt O'Riley moving to Brighton and Jota to Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2024, both for fees in the region of £25million. Nicolas Kuhn also commanded a bumper fee, leaving the Scottish champions in 2025 for Como in a £16.5 million switch.
Last summer, the £31.6m Celtic spent on Camilo Duran, Kasper Hogh, Mika Baur, Haissem Hassan, Joel van den Berg and Jordan Lotomba was offset by profits made on Arne Engels, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda leaving Glasgow's East End.
Ranking among Europe's best
The CIES report rates Celtic with a plus £85m (€101m) for players already transferred in that time period, and plus £88m (€105m) for the value of those still under contract, leading to a combined transfer appreciation of £174m (€206m) positive for the club.
The combined figure for transfer fees paid and received for signings in the last five years, as well as potential future sales, named as transfer volume, sees Celtic boast a potential positive £290m (€343m) figure.
Only clubs whose total transfer spending and income exceeds €50m are in the rankings, making Rangers the only other Premiership side to be mentioned on the list. Rangers have a plus £846k (€1m) for players already transferred and plus £80m (€95m) for the value of those still under contract, leading to a combined transfer appreciation of £81m (€96m).
Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt tops the rankings with an appreciation of £445m (€527m), with Real Madrid right behind on £443m (€526m), a ranking largely credited to the purchase of Kylian Mbappe as a free agent.
Celtic rank ahead of the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Milan in the elite list of transfer models. At the opposite end of the scale, the largest depreciation among European clubs was recorded by Manchester United (-£342m, €405m).
