Rangers 'open door' for celebrity investment after Marathe claim - Exclusive
Rangers could be set for further cash injection in the form of celebrity investment following the takeover by Paraag Marathe and Andrew Cavenagh.
The Light Blues are on the cusp of a takeover by a US consortium including 49ers Enterprises president Marathe and healthcare mogul Cavenagh, with only the final paperwork left to be sorted.
Despite the involvement of the 49ers, who also own Leeds United, Marathe has maintained that Rangers will not be a part of a multi-club ownership model, contrary to some speculation in the media.
Rangers could follow Leeds in taking celebrity investment
That means the door is open for celebrities to inject more cash into Rangers, according to Dan Plumley.
The football finance expert pointed out how Leeds have benefited from investment from the likes of Will Ferrell and Russell Crowe before explaining why a similar setup is possible at Ibrox.
"I think it's completely plausible, and all the things that we're seeing in other clubs and other aspects of this are where it's happening, isn't it?", Plumley exclusively told Ibrox News.
"Leeds have done it, we look at Wrexham and others, it's there and it's happening.
"I think what's interesting about this one as well, the noises we've seen so far is that Marathe, in particular, saying they will be separate; it won't be that multi-club ownership feeder club style that some are maybe suggesting.
Shay Mitchell sparks celebrity investment talks at Ibrox
"So, they do need to have their own identity, but that opens up the door for leverage for stuff like this and celebrity investment or endorsement or partnership deals, commercial packages, all that kind of stuff where you keep Rangers as its own identity, which is really important, but you leverage the ownership model there.
"So, I think it's absolutely plausible that we'll see some of that and again it'll be fascinating to see how that develops if the takeover goes through."
| Shareholder | Stake |
| Dave King | 12.96% |
| Douglas Park | 11.54% |
| George Taylor | 10.22% |
| Stuart Gibson | 9.53% |
| Julian Wolhardt | 9.53% |
| John Halsted | 9.53% |
| John Bennett | 7.11% |
Celebrity investment has become a major topic of discussion at Ibrox after Hollywood actress Shay Mitchell shared a picture wearing a Rangers top to her 35million Instagram followers on 2 March.
This came on the back of the news that the US consortium is close to reaching an agreement over acquiring a 51 per cent stake in the Premiership club.
There has even speculation about Drake investing funds in the club.