Rangers takeover in action as 49ers show off 6 can't miss signs on how business goes down – from transfers to trade offs

A big-money American takeover at Rangers has fans dreaming of wrestling back domestic dominance from rivals Celtic.

It's been a barren spell for the Ibrox side who have lifted just one Premiership title in the last 13 seasons, but Record Sport's exclusive that the money men behind the San Francisco 49ers enterprise were set to make their move

A US consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh are primed to replace Dave King, John Bennett and Barry Scott as well as sweeping up the minor shareholdings held elsewhere. And a deal could be completed by the end of this month.

Cavenagh, who is executive chairman of insurance giant ParetoHealth a company worth over $5bn, is working alongside Paraag Marathe - president of San Francisco 49ers investment arm, the 49ers Enterprises - to get a deal over the line.

The 49ers consortium already own English Championship high-fliers Leeds United, who are battling for promotion back to the Premier League this season - and inked a historic sponsorship partnership with energy drink giant Red Bull last summer.

Both Cavenagh and Gretar Steinsson, employed by the 49ers as technical director at Leeds and a former English Premier League player with Bolton Wanderers, have been spotted at Rangers games already - including last month's derby victory against Celtic.

And United's accounts for 2023/24 paint a picture of the model that could be deployed at Ibrox however, with big money made from cashing in on players - but league-leading losses posted.

Record Sport has taken a deep dive into the figures to give Light Blues fans an idea of what they could expect to see under the new ownership structure. And it will be a huge change from what they have been used to in recent season, especially when it comes to selling players at the right time.

Player trading model

This is one of the biggest takeaways from the accounts; the 49ers know how to do a deal at the right time. And for the right price.

Accounts have shown a big increase in player trading profits since 2021/22, with the following season's total the club's highest on record. As they finished a whopping £73m in the green, mainly thanks to the big money sales of Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City and Raphinha to Barcelona.

Fans can expect more good news in 12 months too, with the £40m sales of Archie Gray to Spurs and Georginio Rutter to Brighton, combined with the £25m pocketed for selling Crysencio Summerville to West Ham making it a very successful summer profit wise. Future planning in action.

Alfredo Morelos was the subject of big money bids - but ended up leaving Ibrox for nothing(Image: Getty Images)

Having seen a host of top stars, including Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, leave on free transfers - cashing in on prized assets has been a major issue for Rangers. But that doesn't look like it'll be a problem when the Americans take charge.

Speaking about the sale of teenager Gray, Marathe said: "There are certain trade-offs we have to make and so we'll have to get to the drawing board and figure out which moves we have to make to make sure we are compliant with profit and sustainability."

Huge losses off the park

Leeds might be winning matches on the park as they push hard for a Premier League return, but off it the losses are eyewatering.

United's pre-tax loss almost doubled last season, from £34m to £61m - the worst in the Championship last season and fourth highest ever recorded in the division.

Revenue dropped by £62m - mainly due to decrease in TV money received after relegation. And Leeds have only been profitable once in the last decade - £1m profit in 2016/17. They lost money in all three of their Premier League seasons.

A silver lining

However it's not all bad news on the financial front, far from it. Analysing the data, football finance expert Kieran Maguire pointed to a major factor that both Rangers and United have in common.

He told the BBC: "Leeds made more money from ticket sales last season in the Championship than they did in the two previous seasons in the Premier League.

"It's partly a function of a few more matches but it also reflects that Leeds fans will turn out at Elland Road regardless of the opposition, regardless of the division.

Rangers fans pack out Ibrox during the Europa League win against Fenerbahce(Image: Getty Images)

"Also if you take a look at commercial income, it's by far the highest in the Championship and it's higher than perhaps two thirds of the clubs in the Premier League as well."

Gate receipts increased by £700,000 to £30.6m according to the accounts, while revenue of £128m was more than double £54m of recorded in their previous Championship season.

Operating losses meanwhile remain huge but have reduced from £106m to £76m .