Middle East sovereign best hope at Rangers after new £50m suggestions

Rangers need the investment of a Middle Eastern sovereign or Texan billionaire to close the gap on Celtic, according to Stephen McGowan.

Writing in the Daily Mail (12 September), journalist McGowan addressed Graham Souness' claims that his former club needed to spend £50million in order to level the playing field with Celtic.

McGowan highlighted that the financial gap between the two sides is widening due to Celtic playing in the Champions League, and said Gers fans are looking to the US or Middle East for a potential saviour.

He wrote: "With [Rangers'] bitter rivals set to hoover up another £40m from participation in the Champions League, many now see a Middle Eastern sovereign or a Texan billionaire as their best hope."

Rangers face a long road ahead in the bid to catch up with Celtic

The post-mortem of the Gers' humiliating 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park in the new season's first Old Firm was always set to throw up questions, and throwing £50m at the problems isn't a long-term solution.

Throwing such an amount in Philippe Clement's transfer kitty may work well in the short-term, and could deliver silverware almost immediately, but changes at Ibrox must be made from top to bottom.

Crucial appointments such as the club's academy director and even their CEO are still yet to be made, months after the departures of Zeb Jacobs and James Bisgrove respectively.

An out-of-favour boardroom is doing itself no favours by delaying these appointments, with the prospect of US or Middle-Eastern investment now something which Gers fans will be dreaming of.

Although new ownership would help to breathe some life back into a club which has seemed rudderless for quite some time, the Ibrox faithful cannot expect the results to be immediate.

A failure to build on their last title in 2021 is seen by many as the cause of the current malaise, and the best move any new owners could make would be to invest a £50m sum on making sure the Gers have the best possible infrastructure off the field, rather than a host of new signings on it.

In other Rangers news, Philippe Clement has a big decision to make on one Gers player as he takes his side to Dundee United.

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