£6m bargain, £12m flop: Celtic & Rangers dominate top 10 SPFL deals

In recent years, the English Premier League has dwarfed the Scottish Premiership in terms of spending. Even the teams near the bottom of the division can lure the best talent to England due to the money made from TV deals and matchday revenue which teams north of the border simply cannot match.

Even Rangers and Celtic, who have spent big money on players recently, are not able to keep up with the lavish spending that occurs in the Premier League.

As time goes on, this financial gulf will only continue to increase and, nowadays, players go to the Old Firm as a stepping stone to further their careers, either in England or abroad.

Despite this, both Rangers and Celtic have made some expensive signings over the previous 25 years and, with this in mind, we have delved into the top ten record signings in Scotland.

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10

Mikel Arteta

Barcelona to Rangers (£5.8m)

Mikel Arteta came through the academy at Barcelona, spending time on loan at PSG before moving to Rangers in 2002 for £5.8m.

He helped the club win the treble during his first season, and it was clear the Spaniard wouldn’t be in Scotland long. Indeed, he joined Everton in 2005 and spent the remainder of his career in the Premier League, going on to feature for Arsenal.

Of course, he is now in charge of the Gunners as he seeks to end their two-decade wait for a Premier League title this season.

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9

Chris Sutton

Chelsea to Celtic (£6m)

Just a few weeks after taking charge, Martin O’Neill spent £6m to sign Chris Sutton from Chelsea, thus breaking the club’s transfer record in the process.

The Englishman formed a dynamic duo with Alan Shearer at Blackburn Rovers as they won the Premier League title in 1995, but his spell at Chelsea failed to produce much of a spark.

Overall, he spent five and a half seasons at Parkhead before returning to England to play for Birmingham City and Aston Villa. He can now be found on Sky Sports as a pundit for all things Scottish football.

8

John Hartson

Coventry City to Celtic (£6m)

In a strange quirk, Rangers could have signed John Hartson the year before, but he failed a medical and the move was called off.

Fast-forward a year later and Martin O’Neill splashed out around £6m to bring the Welshman to Scotland. He spent five years at Celtic, winning numerous trophies and reaching the UEFA Cup final in 2003 before moving to England to finish off his career, spending time with West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City.

Hartson also played for Arsenal during the start of his career, but his best spell came north of the border.

7

Cameron Carter-Vickers

Tottenham to Celtic (£6m)

After a successful loan spell at Parkhead during the 2021/22 season, Celtic forked out £6m to lure Cameron Carter-Vickers to the club ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Since then, the American defender has emerged as one of the key players in the squad as the club have won three Premiership titles on the bounce.

He recently signed a contract extension until 2029 and the £6m fee appears to have turned into a bargain.

6

Michael Ball

Everton to Rangers (£6.5m)

Under Dick Advocaat, Rangers’ spending was extravagant, to say the least, and it culminated in the Gers spending £6.5m to sign left-back Michael Ball from Everton in 2001.

He was one of the most sought-after defenders in the country, but his spell at Rangers didn’t quite work out. An injury kept him out of the 2002/03 season, while he made just 71 appearances for the Light Blues.

A better spell came at Manchester City as he returned to full fitness, with Ball retiring in 2011.

5

Christopher Jullien

Toulouse to Celtic (£7m)

Christopher Jullien became the second-most expensive signing in Celtic’s history when he joined in 2019 from Toulouse for a fee in the region of £7m.

He went on to play just 62 games for the Parkhead side before leaving in 2022 to join Montpellier, where he has emerged as a key player for the Ligue 1 side since his arrival.

4

Ryan Kent

Liverpool to Rangers (£7.5m)

After a successful loan spell, Ryan Kent moved to Rangers in 2019 for £7.5m, which was the most the club had paid for a player in nearly 20 years.

It initially looked like money well spent, but a poor final season at Ibrox saw the winger leave for nothing when his contract expired in 2023. He moved to Fenerbahçe, but was released earlier this season after a fairly unproductive spell in Turkey. The winger is currently without a club.

3

Odsonne Edouard

PSG to Celtic (£9m)

Odsonne Edouard scored three goals against Rangers during his loan spell in the 2017/18 season, leading Celtic to splash out £9m on his signature that summer.

It was a club-record fee and the Frenchman shone at the club before making a move to Crystal Palace in 2021 for £14m. He has spent the previous three and a half seasons in the Premier League following his move from Parkhead, with Edouard currently on loan at Leicester City.

2

Arne Engels

Augsburg to Celtic (£11m)

Celtic broke their transfer record by spending £11m to sign Arne Engels from the German Bundesliga in the summer of 2024.

11 goal involvements in his first 21 appearances suggests that it has been money well spent, although time will surely be the judge of that, especially given how much was spent on the midfielder.

1

Tore Andre Flo

Chelsea to Rangers (£12m)

Rangers shattered the Scottish transfer record by signing Tore Andre Flo in 2000 for a fee believed to be around £12m.

A goal on his debut against Celtic could have been the start of a fine spell in Scotland, but in all honesty, Rangers didn’t see the best out of someone they had spent £12m on.

He returned to England in 2002, joining Sunderland, before his career ended with Sogndal in 2012.