Celtic vs Rangers title decider – Who are the most valuable players in Scotland?

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Old Firm on Saturday 

The final Old Firm clash of the season takes place on Saturday afternoon and it’s effectively a title decider in the Scottish Premiership title race. Rangers travel across Glasgow trailing their rivals Celtic by three points with just three games remaining and Philippe Clement’s men realistically need a win to preserve their faint title hopes.

The result of the Old Firm this weekend will prove pivotal to which club lifts the trophy in May and Celtic are strong favourites. Rangers entered the last Old Firm in pole position but they failed to take advantage at home in a 3-3 draw. Since then, Clement’s men have crumbled during the business end of the season, losing to Ross County before dropping more points to Dundee to leave Celtic strong favourites to retain their title. It’s not been plain sailing for Brendan Rodgers on his return to Parkhead after enjoying complete dominance during his first spell at Celtic but he could finish the season with two trophies – Celtic and Rangers meet in the Scottish. As the graphic below illustrates, Celtic’s form across the last six league games is superior to their rivals and Rangers have failed to win any of the three Old Firms this season. No team outside of Glasgow has won the league title since Aberdeen in 1985 and, unsurprisingly, the Old Firm dominate the most valuable players currently playing in Scotland. 

Who are the most valuable Celtic and Rangers players

Celtic’s squad has the highest market value in Scotland at €116.6 million, which is €7.8 higher than Rangers (€108.8m). As illustrated in the graphic above, Celtic have six players in the top ten most valuable players in the Scottish top-flight with Rangers having four. Before Fábio Silva (€13m) joined Rangers on-loan from Wolves in January, Celtic occupied the top six spots with Kyogo Furuhashi leading the way at €14m. It’s widely accepted that Celtic have more sellable assets within their squad – especially Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate – while Rangers’ best performers this season are all in their thirties – John Lundstram, James Tavernier and Jack Butland.

Combined Celtic and Rangers XI

Formulating a combined XI from Celtic and Rangers will always prove controversial given the fierce rivalry between the teams. It’s arguably the biggest derby in the United Kingdom but based purely on Transfermarkt’s market values, six Celtic players and five Rangers stars make the combined eleven. Jack Butland has been a revelation since moving north and he eclipses fellow former England international goalkeeper Joe Hart. While James Tavernier became the top scoring British defender in history last weekend, Celtic’s Alistair Johnston (€8m) is valued €1m higher than the Rangers captain due to the age differential. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Connor Goldson form the centre-back partnership with Greg Taylor at left-back. 

In the 4-4-2 formation, Celtic’s prized assets O’Riley and Hatate take the two central midfield roles while Rangers occupy the winger positions. Todd Cantwell (€8.5m) received a €0.5m upgrade in the March update and teammate Abdallah Sima is on the right flank. The two most valuable players in Scotland form a strike partnership valued at €27m in Kyogo and Silva.