Rangers will be in Champions League elite eight IF they win the Europa League as extra bonus looms

Rangers will be dropped into pot one of next season’s Champions League IF they win the Europa League.

Gio van Bronckhorst’s men know they will secure a lucrative spot in the richest club competition in the world by lifting the trophy in Seville.

But they’re also guaranteed to gain an extra level of importance by mixing it up with the world’s biggest teams in the top pot.

The eight teams that make up the elite eight will be made up of the winners of the Champions League, the Europa League and the champions of the six highest-placed countries that have not won either of the top two European trophies.

Rangers supporters can rightly dream, but Van Bronckhorst and his European heroes focus on the here and now.

The Ibrox side face Bundesliga big spenders RB Leipzig in the Europa League semi-finals and know either Eintracht Frankfurt or West Ham are lurking if they reach Sevilla.

But a return to the Champions League for the first time in 11 years would be capped off in the perfect way by standing alongside football’s biggest names.

Villarreal, last season’s Europa League winners, took advantage of their top position and are now in the final four of this season’s tournament.

Rangers are still hopeful that they can make it to the group stage by winning the competition, but they would likely end up in pot four if that becomes their entry route.

If Ibrox win the Europa League and Celtic win the Premiership, Scottish football will have two teams in the group stage for the first time in 15 years.