Rangers ‘waste tens of millions’ in chronic developments live on BBC Sportsound
Rangers were knocked out of the Europa League with a 2-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Cyriel Dessers felt he should have been awarded a penalty early on in the first half, when his shirt was ripped by Bilbao defender Daniel Vivian.
However, the appeals were waved away by referee Irfan Peljto, who awarded Bilbao a spot-kick on the stroke of half-time when John Souttar brought down striker Maroan Sannadi.
Oihan Sancet made no mistake from 12 yards and beat Liam Kelly from the penalty spot, as the goalkeeper could not emulate last week’s Ibrox heroics.
Spain international Nico Williams doubled his side’s lead in the second half with a header, sending Ernesto Valverde’s men through to the semi-finals.
The Bears’ attention will now turn back to the Scottish Premiership, where they face St Mirren on away soil on 26 April.
Tom English slams Rangers’ transfer activity and wage bill
Ahead of the Gers’ Europa League quarter-final second leg, Tom English claimed that the Ibrox giants have been wasteful when it comes to transfer fees and their wage bill.
The BBC journalist believes it is a chronic issue, with over-the-top wages being offered for years.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound [17 April, 19:42], English said: “Tens of millions has been wasted. We’re talking about transfer fees, but we’re also talking about wages, and the wages are sky high, they’re still sky high at Rangers for very average players.
“Because it’s Rangers, they feel almost honour-bound to offer them more money than they need to offer them.
“This is the story as old as time at Rangers, they don’t get value for money. Danilo, £6m, how many games has he played? We could go on here with the financial waste, chronic financial waste at Rangers.”
Rangers have not got good value for money out of Danilo
While English criticised Rangers for their financial activity, it is no surprise that he particularly pointed the finger at the Ibrox club for the millions they spent on Danilo.
| Danilo stats | 2024/25 Scottish Premiership |
| Appearances | 19 |
| Starts | 7 |
| Goals | 5 |
Barry Ferguson’s men have enjoyed a strong run in the Europa League, but the Brazilian has not played a major part in that, making just four appearances and two starts.
Albeit Danilo has made a return of one goal and two assists in that time, the Ibrox faithful would have liked to see him contribute more to their side’s efforts domestically and in Europe.
After joining the Gers in the summer of 2023, the 26-year-old managed just 12 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, notching four goals and one assist in the process.
He has gone on to make 19 appearances in the top flight for Ferguson’s side this term, but has only been named in his side’s starting lineup on seven occasions in the league.
With injuries taking over, it may soon be time to cut all ties and move on.