It’s almost a redundant fact that Celtic’s annual wage bill outstrips the rest of the Scottish Premiership – bar Rangers – by some considerable margin.
Each year the Hoops shell out £26m before bonuses on player salaries. Beyond Glasgow, the other eight clubs in the Scottish top-flight are committed to £36.4m combined.
The wage-bill of Hibernian, a fine institution from the nation’s capital, who remain a constant fixture at the business end of the sports betting, is only a fifth of what the other team in green and white invest in their personnel.
Yet, as startling as these figures are, as stated, they are also to be expected.
In stature, earning power, fan numbers and historic achievements, Celtic loom large over each of their peers besides their arch-neighbours.
They are a very big fish in a relatively small pond, which affords them the luxury of recruiting the best players and naturally, this comes at a cost.
Biggest Earners at Celtic (2025/26):
- Kieran Tierney - £50,000 per week
- Callum McGregor - £39,000 per week
- Cameron Carter-Vickers - £37,000 per week
- Jota - £37,000 per week
- Kelechi Iheanacho - £35,000 per week
Context though is key here, because while Celtic are a behemoth domestically, in Europe they struggle to financially compete. This in turn leaves them falling short too often in continental competitions.
Their annual wage-bill is a million or two shy of what is paid at Cagliari, FC Koln, Strasbourg and Getafe, to name just four clubs from across the channel who are hardly big hitters.
It is significantly less than what every Premier League club pays out in salaries.
Kieran Tierney
Celtic’s transfer strategy typically sees them recruit from north of the border, using their financial muscle and the promise of silverware to entice the finest talents from clubs they compete with – and usually beat – on a weekly basis.
France’s Ligue 1 and the Scandinavian leagues have also yielded valuable assets over the years without breaking the Hoops’ wage structure.
Rarely do they look south for new players – rarely can they afford to – but Tierney is an exception, joining the reigning Scottish champions in the summer of 2025.
That he is a returning hero largely accounts for this; the defender having made 102 appearances for his boyhood idols before a £25m fee saw him head to Arsenal in 2019.
In the Premier League, Tierney was a success, that was until injuries began to blight him persistently. Ultimately, he became surplus to requirements at the Emirates and he was allowed to leave on a free.
This was another reason why Celtic could attain him. Yet, even with these conditions in play, the Scottish giant still had to financially stretch.
In North London, the 28-year-old was on £60,000 per week, with a sizable bonus package bumping the figure up further. His present wage is comparable to that with a contract that runs to 2030.
Callum McGregor
Capped 63 times by his country, McGregor has earned the right to be handsomely remunerated by his club, after propelling them to ten league crowns in 11 seasons, across a remarkable era of dominance that has seen the Hoops short-priced in the football betting each and every August.
There are six Scottish Cups and eight Scottish League Cups to factor in too, all won by the box-to-box midfielder since making his first team debut in 2014.
A graduate of the club’s youth academy, McGregor’s endeavour, creativity and sheer will-to-win has helped turn draws into wins on countless occasions, while his leadership as captain has proven crucial in crucial moments.
Cameron Carter-Vickers
There are certain players whose C.V.s are almost exclusively made up of loan spells. The American centre-back falls into this category.
This was certainly true at least up to 2022, the defender emerging from Tottenham’s youth system and making just two appearances in North London – both times in domestic cups – before being farmed out to Sheffield United to gain experience.
From there temporary stints at Ipswich, Swansea, Stoke, Luton and Bournemouth followed, the 6ft 1 stopper seemingly on course to complete a nationwide tour of Championship clubs until Celtic intervened and brought him north. Naturally, he started out on loan.
A series of impressive displays sealed a permanent deal and it’s a testament to the player’s impact in Glasgow that he has become the joint-third highest paid star. A contract extension, signed in 2024, saw to that.
Jota
The Portuguese winger is a prime example of how savvy Celtic have to be in the market, despite the colossal financial advantage they hold on the home front.
Prior to moving to Scotland, Jota had hardly pulled up trees for Benfica or Real Valladolid, the latter on loan. There were glimpses of brilliance, via late cameos, but it was telling that he failed to establish himself as a regular starter for either side.
Bringing him to the Premiership therefore represented a gamble for the Hoops, one that paid off royally and quickly when his pace and trickery troubled defenders from the off. Within weeks both fans and the media alike were clamouring for Celtic to trigger a permanent deal, for the fixed price of £6.5m.
An excellent campaign duly saw that happen, and then came another as the Hoops completed a domestic treble.
His displays caught the eye of Al-Ittihad who swooped in 2023, offering up £25m but alas the player flopped in Saudi Arabia, as he subsequently did at Rennes.
These disappointments resulted in Celtic re-signing the attacker in January 2025, for a knock-down £8.4m. Jota scored a late winner on his second club debut.
A ten million pound profit and three years – to date – of outstanding service. That’s good business.
Kelechi Iheanacho
The former Manchester City, Leicester and Sevilla striker arrived in the summer of 2025 on a one-year deal and wasted little time in making his mark, firing two goals in his opening four outings.
After finding himself on the periphery in La Liga, and being reunited with his ex-gaffer Brendan Rodgers, it seemed like the Nigerian international was set to revive his reputation following a troublesome couple of years.
Unfortunately, a serious hamstring issue has jeopardised that, and with Rodgers no longer at the helm Iheanacho’s future is up in the air. For sure, he needs a solid second half to 2025/26 to secure a second year’s employment in Scotland.
