Ally McCoist shares rumours he’s heard about Steven Gerrard live on air
Steven Gerrard will not return to Rangers for a second spell as manager.
Gerrard held talks with Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe in London last week, but the discussions broke down, much to the annoyance of Gers fans.
Gerrard would have been a welcome appointment for Rangers, and his 2020-21 Scottish Premiership win in Govan will be forever remembered as he stopped Celtic from winning 10 league titles in a row.
Ally McCoist has now given a potential reason as to why Gerrard failed to agree terms with the Rangers board.
Steven Gerrard couldn’t take financial hit to join Rangers
Several managers are linked with the Rangers job, with Danny Rohl now emerging as the favourite to take over.
Despite this, Gerrard was always viewed as the frontrunner until no agreement could be made.
Speaking on talkSPORT on 13 October, McCoist alluded to the potential reason why Gerrard turned the job down.
He said: “It doesn’t surprise me that he turned down the job, but it disappoints me a little bit.
“I don’t know why he turned it down, but there are rumours knocking about that he had to stay out of the country for a certain period of time, and it would have cost him a lot of money.
“The actual job itself would suit him, and the new owners would have financially backed him.”
- Gerrard left Rangers for Aston Villa in November 2021
- Was sacked as Aston Villa manager after just 11 months in charge
- Spent over two years at Saudi club Al-Ettifaq, but was sacked in January 2025 after having a disappointing win percentage of 39 per cent
Having lived in Saudi Arabia for over two years, Gerrard cannot simply move back to the UK at no cost.
Gerrard would need to surrender his Saudi residence permit and also apply for a returning visa.
While there may be other issues that led to Gerrard not returning to Ibrox, this would have certainly felt a huge constraint for the 45-year-old.
Regardless of the reasons why Gerrard won’t become the new Rangers manager, supporters must question the board over why negotiations didn’t progress.
Rangers fans must also question the board over Gerrard failure
Gerrard is extremely popular with Rangers fans and would have been a perfect appointment for the 49ers as they try to get the fans back onside.
The 49ers’ standing with the Ibrox faithful is precarious following the disastrous decision to hire Russell Martin.
Andrew Cavenagh must get this appointment right, and bringing Gerrard in would have given him some credit in the bank.
Whilst no confirmed reason has been given by Gerrard, fans will wonder if Cavenagh really did enough to convince him about the project during the talks.
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