The player trading model at Celtic Park has been lauded over the years - and has earned a blockbuster ranking
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Celtic have been named among the top transfer models in Europe ahead of some major clubs.
Despite some recent criticism from fans, the Parkhead hierarchy have become known for their shrewd player trading model - which has led to some big profits in recent times.
The CIES Football Observatory have examined the clubs who are best at adding value to their star names over the least fives years - which, for Celtic, dates back all the way to the bumper paydays for the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer.
In that time, the Glasgow giants smashed their record for a player sale on two occasions with the sales of Matt O'Riley to Brighton and Jota to Al-Ittihad - both in the summer of 2024 - who departed Celtic Park for a fee in the region of £25million.
Nicolas Kuhn is another player who commanded a bumper fee, leaving the Scottish champions in 2025 for Como in a £16.5 million switch.
And last summer the £31.6m Celtic spend 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.
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The CIES report states rate 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 - among the best on the continent.
The combined figure for transfer fees paid and received for signings in the last five years as well as potential futures sales, named as transfer volume by the boffins, 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.
The Light Blues plus £846k (€1m) for players already transferred in that time period, 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 with on £443m (€526m). The purchase of Kylian Mbappe as a free agent is largely credited with the La Liga heavyweights lofty ranking.
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).
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