Rangers: Jose Cifuentes opens up on Ibrox exit, shares who wanted him before Cruzeiro switch
Jose Cifuentes has revealed that a couple of Russian teams wanted to sign him in the January transfer window prior to his Cruzeiro move.
The Ecuador international only arrived at Ibrox last August, but he was loaned out to the Brazilian club on a 12-month loan with the option to buy.
Cifuentes could have stayed in Europe with an unnamed Russian club, but the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine meant that was not possible.
“There were two Russian teams who wanted to sign me,” he is quoted as saying by The Scotsman [1 March].
“With the war that is going on there, it was something that could not be carried out because European teams are not allowed to receive money from Russian clubs at the moment.
“There was a team from the English Championship interested and a club from Turkey too. But it would have been a loan for five months which meant uprooting from family again after they had already had to adapt to Scotland, which would have been a problem.
“So I had to make the best decision for them and that’s why I’m here in Brazil. I made my debut for Cruzeiro last week and it was sunny.
“I didn’t experience the sun for the six months I was with Rangers. It was always cold. But my fitness is good and I think I will adapt here easily.
“I like to play as an attacking midfielder, but positioning is something that I adapt to the team for who I am playing.”
Jose Cifuentes a forgotten man at Rangers already
While Cifuentes has only initially departed on loan, it is fair to assume the midfielder’s time in Glasgow is up after six months.
In a summer of rather mixed transfer activity at best, Sam Lammers and Cifuentes were the biggest flops of the lot.
Plenty was expected of Cifuentes upon his arrival from Los Angeles FC, with the Gers seeing off plenty of interest for his signature.
However, he was unable to make himself indispensable to the side and Philippe Clement ultimately decided he was no longer needed.
Cifuentes made just six Scottish Premiership starts in total, and his name will likely be forgotten by supporters a few years from now.
That is technically when his Ibrox deal is due to expire, having penned a four-year contract last summer, but he will not be seeing that through.
The fact lots of teams were interested in him in January says a lot, though, and there is no reason why he cannot now get his career back on track in South America.
In other Rangers news, Sky Sports has shared what Clement has had to say about Jack Butland’s likely England call-up.
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