Celtic’s potential £40 million Champions League boost in danger

Celtic are leading the Scottish Premiership title race by six points with just five more league games to go. Thus, you have to consider Ange Postecoglou’s team to be in the driver’s seat at this point of time and the heavy favourites to be crowned champions. Of course, nothing is set in stone yet and there is a possibility that the Hoops could slip up. Thus, there is work to be done and no place for complacency.

But if Celtic are able to win the Premiership title, it would be a huge boost for them. Not only will they be able to win the Scottish crown back from the Rangers, but there is a great chance that they will qualify for the Champions League main stage as well.

That is expected to come with a £40 million cash boost, which would be huge for any Scottish club to say the least. But following the latest round of results, there’s doubt over the Champions League spot though.

While Real Madrid and Chelsea might have played out an absolute thriller, Villarreal were able to knock out Bayern Munich to reach the semi-finals. And that is where Celtic’s worries lie.

Celtic or Rangers’ spot in the Champions League is in doubt

As reported by the Daily Record, if Villarreal are able to win the Champions League, then their place in next season’s main stage could come at the expense of the Premiership champions, due to Scotland’s co-efficient rankings.

This is because Villarreal are unlikely to qualify for the competition through the traditional route by finishing in the top four of their league. They currently sit at 7th in La Liga.

This, of course, is a worry for Celtic. Fans would have been hoping to see the club back in the main stage of the Champions League after years but now, there is the possibility that they will have to go through a qualification phase even if they win the Premiership.

It must be pointed out though that this scenario still depends on a lot of things. First of all, Villarreal will have to win the Champions League, which is going to be very difficult to say the least. They will come across either Liverpool or Benfica in the semi-finals and then Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid or Manchester City in the final. Also, the situation involving Russian clubs could end up playing a factor as well.