There’s a famous anecdote from Celtic’s trip to Seville in 2003.

As at least 40 fans descended on the Spanish city, one bemused local told an STV News reporter: “You’d think Celtic supporters would be more interested in their team contesting a UEFA Cup Final. If this was Manchester United, Liverpool or Bayern Munich there would be, I don’t know, 80,000 of them”.

On Tuesday night, thousands of Manchester United fans made the trip to Bergamo to watch their side take on Atalanta in the Champions League. A prominent ESPN journalist with 217,000 Twitter followers praised United’s travelling support, tweeting: “A full away end at Atalanta. Considering lack of flights, Covid restrictions and Man Utd’s inconsistent form, it’s an impressive turnout”.

There’s nothing particularly egregious about that statement. Any fan who puts their time and money towards following their team abroad deserves appreciation. The journalist, however, went on to say: “Only the likes of United, Liverpool and Bayern able to do that time after time in Europe”.

Say what you like, but you’ve got to admit that is a collection of words arranged into a sentence.

Take your average Celtic or Rangers away tie in the Europa League. On top of the away end being sold out, you can guarantee there will be plenty more ticketless supporters in bars around the city. Indeed, at the time of writing there are numerous Celtic fans in Budapest despite there being no tickets allocated to them for their match against Ferencvaros.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence and they’re all just right into the Szechenyi thermal baths. And maybe there were thousands of Rangers supporters in Brøndbyvester this week to soak up the heat of Denmark in November.

Back in 2003, 80,000 people dressed in green and white travelled to Seville. Presumably, they were just in town for the flamenco dancing. Five years later, tens of thousands of Rangers fans spontaneously decided to take the Coronation Street tour (Ken Barlow’s absence from the set resulted in the mood turning sour).

Those large crowds aren’t just confined to glamorous competitive fixtures. Celtic and Rangers take over towns for friendlies.

8,000 Rangers fans travelled to Leipzig in January 2017 to watch a team featuring Philippe Senderos contest a friendly in sub-zero conditions. 6,000 Celtic supporters travelled to watch their side take on English third-tier opponents Brentford in 2013.

Leaving aside the Glasgow pair, there are numerous other clubs who can be relied upon to bring sizable crowds to every European away match. If you’ve ever had thousands of Ajax fans marching past your office on a Thursday afternoon, you’ll know there are more than three clubs who can sell out their European allocation.

This isn’t some 19-year-old called ‘@Pogbaholic_V2’ tweeting to 341 followers. This is a football journalist with a platform dismissing numerous dedicated fanbases. While hardly the crime of the century, it’s emblematic of the attitude frequently shown to Celtic and Rangers by English pundits.

We’ve all come to accept how Scottish football is regarded south of the border, but suggesting that it’s “Only the likes of” Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern who can shift tickets for these games perpetuates the idea that only ‘elite’ football clubs have ‘elite’ fans.

In fairness, if Celtic and Rangers fans are going to persist in not wearing Manchester United tops while bringing at least as many supporters to European games and creating at least as much noise they simply don’t deserve to be considered elite.