Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique believes Rangers would not have been in such a poor position in their Champions League group if they had the financial muscle to replace Calvin Bassey in the summer.

The Nigerian international was sold for £20m to Ajax back in July and, while the likes of Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz were brought in to replace the defender, Enrique says they weren’t able to bring in a player with the same ability. He claims both Old Firm clubs are suffering from the same problems:

“When Rangers have a good player, if they can sell him, they sell him. Celtic are the same. For Liverpool it’s not that way, for Napoli it’s not that way. Or if they sell, they buy big again. It’s a completely different world, so it is what it is.!”

“Calvin Bassey, a really good defender, went from Rangers to Ajax for around £20m. So when you take out their best players, it’s very difficult for them to sign better players and stay competitive. Some years there is a surprise, but it’s normal for them both to go out early.”

It’s a fair point made by Enrique. If Bassey or another player of a similar level was playing in the back four against Liverpool on Wednesday night, you can guarantee that they wouldn’t have conceded seven.

Such is the nature of the finances in Scottish football that they simply can’t compete with their rivals in their Champions League group. If they can qualify for the group stages on a regular basis, though, the inequalities could begin to balance out to some degree.