Mark Cooper, recently recruited to lead Celtic’s scouting operations, has outlined a strategic vision aimed at enhancing the club’s ability to compete with Europe’s elite football clubs.
Following the departure of key recruitment personnel, Cooper’s appointment signals a fresh approach to Celtic’s scouting and player acquisition efforts which could focus on the South America American markets and the MLS with Cooper having a wealth of knowledge of the regions.
Cooper’s strategy revolves around achieving significant transfer profits, a method successfully employed by other similarly positioned clubs in Europe.
In a detailed explanation during a 2019 appearance on the Celtic Underground podcast, Cooper emphasized the necessity of generating substantial profits from player transfers to scale up the club’s financial capabilities and competitive stature.
Drawing comparisons with clubs like Ajax, Benfica, and Porto, Cooper highlighted their effective financial strategies: “Similar clubs around Europe, with a similar revenue – our (Celtic) revenue was £103 million (in 2019), which is higher than Porto, Anderlecht, Ajax, Sporting, and Porto. Of all of these clubs, the ones that are successful are the ones that manage to have a transfer balance where they are making 100% profit.”
He elaborated on the process of reinvesting transfer profits to progressively elevate the club’s market competitiveness: “The only way clubs like Ajax, Celtic, Anderlecht can do it, is by having about 100% transfer profit and year on year, almost like compound interest, when you’re reinvesting in ever-increasing circles and selling again at a higher level, reinvesting at a higher level, selling at a higher level.”
Cooper cited Benfica and Porto as exemplars of this strategy, noting their substantial profits over the past decade. He also pointed to RB Salzburg’s success: “Benfica who have been doing this have got more than £350 million in the last ten years worth of profit. Porto are just under that with £340 million.
“Salzburg has only been doing this recently. The amounts that they’re spending haven’t got to that stage yet, but their transfer profit is 170%. That’s in a small league that no one wants to go to, not spending that much money. That’s just using markets that will give them profits.”
