Leon Balogun reveals Ross Wilson and Giovanni van Bronckhorst dispute amid Rangers contract chaos
Leon Balogun departed Rangers in the summer after failing to agree on a new contract, but it wasn’t for Ross Wilson’s lack of trying.
Balogun was a crucial part of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers side for two seasons, including the remarkable Europa League run and Scottish Cup success last season.
However, the 34-year-old centre-back was then told to pack his bags and leave Ibrox after both parties failed to agree to a new deal.
But speaking to The Beautiful Game Podcast, Balogun revealed that it was Van Bronckhorst’s decision to let him go, with sporting director Wilson trying his best to convince the Dutchman to keep Balogun at the club.
“From what I’ve been told the manager wasn’t too sure about it, and the sporting director tried to convince him but it was like a constant back-and-forth.
“At one point I thought a new contract would come quite quickly because they told me: ‘We want to keep you and we want to find a solution’
“But on the final day, they said: ‘No, we can’t come to a conclusion.'”
Another error
Van Bronckhorst will go down in the record books at Ibrox for helping the team to a European final, but this season has been littered with misjudgements and poor decisions.
One of them was letting Balogun go without finding a suitable replacement. Rangers lost both Balogun and Calvin Bassey in the summer and then proceeded to have an injury crisis in defence.
It shows the effect of terrible decisions made by the Rangers board and Van Bronckhorst himself. If Balogun was allowed to stay put at Ibrox then the Dutchman may even still find himself in the job.
Admittedly, Balogun was entering the twilight years of his career, but his experience was invaluable and the likes of Steven Davis and Scott Arfield have both been kept on the books despite being the same age.
Van Bronckhorst likely deems the Balogun departure as one of his biggest regrets during his time at Ibrox, and Michael Beale has now been left a shattered and ageing squad to sort out.
In other Rangers news, Ross Wilson claims that Rangers were extremely close to signing an unnamed Dutch player under Giovanni van Bronckhorst