Glasgow World’s “Celtic owner” article is desperate clickbait rubbish.

Regular readers will know my opinion of the notoriously dreadful Ben Banks and the abysmal publication he writes for, Glasgow World. Yesterday, they published one of the most ludicrous clickbait pieces I’ve come across, and honestly, I read it with no small amount of disgust. Not that there was much to actually read.

The so-called “article” was one of those tiresome gallery-style clickbait contraptions masquerading as a story, purporting to tell us where Dermot Desmond ranks among the 92 richest sports “owners.” It was riddled with inaccuracies, and in what amounted to just a few brief paragraphs. I didn’t even bother to go through it to find out where Desmond ranks.

Which isn’t to say that I didn’t run down that information for this blog, because of course I did. I just didn’t get it from their dire site.

Let’s get to the crux of the issue: the glaring falsehood at the heart of the piece. Dermot Desmond is not Celtic’s owner. That is categorically untrue. Only the illiterate—or perhaps the deliberately misleading—could have written and published such nonsense. He isn’t even the majority shareholder, never mind the owner of the club.

And really, who cares where he ranks on some meaningless list? Is Celtic in trouble financially? No. Does his position on this list reflect on the club in any way? Absolutely not. The fact is, we don’t have a sugar daddy running the show. Desmond doesn’t pour his personal wealth into Celtic, and he rarely dips into his own pocket for the club. Nor does he need to. Celtic is self-sustaining. That’s not a luxury the club across the city can claim.

Moreover, even if Desmond were inclined to throw money at the club, UEFA’s financial regulations wouldn’t allow it. So this “story,” even if accurate, would be utterly pointless. Celtic fans aren’t clamouring for irresponsible spending sprees.

We want our transfer budget used wisely and efficiently. We want quality players identified and signed based on the manager’s input. Living within our means is not only necessary but preferable. We’re proud of the fact that our club operates sustainably, especially in an era where financial mismanagement has sunk so many others.

Back to the piece: Banks asserts that Celtic fans are demanding the club spends more. That’s simply not true. Most of us understand the financial restrictions we operate under, and we take pride in the way the club has adapted to these challenges. UEFA’s ever-tightening regulations ensure that reckless spending is a thing of the past, at least for those who want to stay compliant. Banks either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about this reality.

His article, like much of his work, is recycled rubbish.

The original information appears to have come from the Online Betting Guide (OLBG), which ranks Desmond 82nd with a net worth of £3.2 billion. For those at Ibrox, take a good look at that. That’s real money. He’s the real deal. A bona fide billionaire on Celtic’s board.

But, as I’ve said, it makes no difference to the way the club is run because that wealth stays in his pocket—and thank goodness for that.

Unlike other clubs, we’ve learned to maximise our resources and live within our means. We’ve adapted and thrived under these constraints. It’s forced us to be smarter, sharper, and more efficient. Perhaps one day, the Ibrox club will figure that out too. But as long as the likes of Banks churn out drivel about sugar daddies and fantasy finances, that day won’t come any time soon.

What Scottish football needs is serious discussion about real issues—like how clubs are financed sustainably—not more of this empty-headed nonsense.