Leaked secret emails between Celtic chief Peter Lawwell and former Rangers head Martin Bain have made some shocking revelations.
For years fans have wondered how Celtic and Rangers would fare in the English Premier League. The Glasgow giants have completely dominated Scottish football over the years, winning a combined 104 league titles between them. The rest of the Scottish clubs have combined to win just 19! That just shows how dominant the two teams have been.
Thus, at times it has been hard not to wonder whether the two should leave the Scottish league altogether and go to the Premier League. The league down South is much more lucrative financially and would turn both the Glasgow teams into huge brands. And it is hard to believe that the English chiefs would be against it either as Celtic and Rangers would bring more eyeballs to the league itself with their huge fanbases.
And after emails between Peter Lawwell and former Rangers CEO, Martin Bain, were leaked, it looks like there were genuine discussions between the two sides about joining the Premier League.
As reported by The Sun, one of Lawwell’s emails read:
"“In a media environment craving additional quantity and quality of games, the introduction of Celtic and Rangers into the FA Premier League would have a massive impact on the ability to meet that demand.”"
Later it added:
"“The two teams also benefit from a global following similar to that enjoyed by only a few teams in England such as Manchester United and Liverpool.Driven by Scottish and (in the case of Celtic in particular) Irish migration, the USA, Canada and Australia provide large, wealthy and committed fan bases.”"
Their are two arguments to be made here though. On one hand, it is true that the two Glasgow sides leaving would make the Scottish league much more competitive and probably interesting as well. Right now, it is hard to see anyone other than Celtic or Rangers win the league in the next decade or so (Read century if you want).
But on the other hand, who would be there to watch this league if the two teams left. It probably would not be too far-fetched to say that Celtic and Rangers’ combined fan base is ten times larger than all the other Scottish clubs put together. It is like asking Messi to stop playing football because he is too good.