Steven Gerrard was told of Rangers financial issue before exit to Aston Villa – Hugh MacDonald
Hugh MacDonald has warned that if Giovanni van Bronckhorst is made the new Rangers manager, he’ll have to sell players before he can buy new ones.
Earlier this month, the Scottish champions announced an operating loss of £23.5million for last season and that they will need to rely on loans if they do not raise £7.5million before this campaign is over [Sky Sports].
According to Herald journalist MacDonald, Steven Gerrard was told about the financial restrictions before he left Ibrox to join Aston Villa and that if van Bronckhorst comes in, he’ll have to find a way to strengthen his squad by offloading players first.
Speaking on PLZ Soccer on Tuesday, MacDonald said: “Gerrard was told pretty emphatically and actually said in press conferences that any future buys would have to be funded by sales.
“The answers would seem to be pretty clear there.
“When you look at the annual figures, there’s no room for manoeuvre, it’s as simple as that.
“You’re talking about cumulative losses of over £80million.
“These losses are all owed to people, including fans, who’ve put money in so you wonder how that doesn’t stretch to eternity. There’s got to be a finishing line there.
“There has to be a realisation that the next move over players may be player sales rather than players coming on board.”
Hard-hitting truth
A lot of Rangers fans are happy to bury their heads in the sands when it comes to finances and transfer rumours.
That’s fine – but it’s time for people to face reality.
We’ve lost a lot of money in recent years and while that doesn’t mean we’re in danger of a 2012-style financial catastrophe, it’s something that must be addressed.
Rangers are likely to have made a big chunk of money last week when Gerrard and his coaching team quit Ibrox to join Aston Villa.
The Premier League club are reported to have paid millions – but that’s not going to help van Bronckhorst out if he comes in and is made the new manager.
Rangers have to make that £7.5million and then some if they want to be able to add to the squad in the January transfer window and selling players is the easiest way.
Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Joe Aribo, Nathan Patterson, Glen Kamara and Ianis Hagi are all likely to be able to fetch a decent profit for the Light Blues and, of course, we’ve seen all of them linked with moves away from Ibrox at some point.
There’s going to be a lot of speculation surrounding exits in the next month or so and even the next year as the next manager looks to make his mark on the squad.
It’s just part of the process.
In other Rangers news, this ex-SFA coach could be in charge of the Gers on Sunday when they play Hibernian.