Keith Harris, the former chairman of the EFL, has revealed that Celtic and Rangers came close to playing in the Championship in 2000.

An age-old debate has often surrounded how the two clubs would fare if they played in England, but the possibility of the change has rarely been detailed in practice.

What is beyond doubt is that Celtic’s stature is much more fitting of the Premier League than the second tier. Any proposal to take the Hoops down the pyramid in England would prove controversial.

There are also questions over how it could impact the financial landscape in Scottish football, and increase the financial strain on travelling fans.

Keith Harris on the EFL talks for Celtic and Rangers: ‘It was fast-moving’

When the topic was brought up on the Keys & Grey Unleashed Podcast, Harris said: “What would happen if Celtic and Rangers were to join the Football League?

“I attended a lunch at David Murray’s house in Perthshire. The Celtic and Rangers boards were both there in the same house. David said, ‘I’ll invite them in, but I won’t host them. You can host them.’

“It was an interesting experience; it was certainly exciting. It was quite fast-moving. Between the SPL and the Scottish FA, and there was broad agreement that they would come into the Championship.

“It was a triumph (getting them all to agree to it). I’d like to take praise, but it wasn’t that difficult. Because suddenly Hearts and Aberdeen weren’t playing for third or fourth place, they’re playing for first. There was an agreement that some of the extra £40m would go back into Scotland.”

“I got stopped by a journalist who said ‘I’ve got the story.’ I think he was an Observer journalist. He said ‘we’re going to be running this.’ And that blew it, no question. You get some quotes going in and it died on the maypole. But it was that close.”

The idea has rarely been a popular one among the Parkhead support, so would unlikely to ever go ahead without some serious lobbying by those above.