Latest news with #Ibrox
The National
an hour ago
- Sport
- The National
Modric's 'first choice' for summer move revealed amid Rangers links
The veteran playmaker was released by Real Madrid and was linked with a move to Ibrox if the Spanish giants' ex-assistant manager, Davide Ancelotti, got the Rangers job. Modric has been tipped to go to the MLS to end his career, with the 186-times capped legend turning 40 in September. Read more: However, his national team manager Dalic thinks he will stay in Europe. He said: "'Luka will decide for himself, he has a lot of calls and offers. There is no need to rush anywhere, he needs to see and think about what is best for him and his family. "It is important to us that he remains available to the national team and I know his goal is to qualify for the World Cup. "I am convinced that he will make the right decision, that he will be ready for both the club and the national team. Luka is a great example for everyone. "Of course, it would be great if he remained at the highest European level, played strong matches and played in European competition. "And I know that is also his first choice."
The National
an hour ago
- Sport
- The National
Dessers reveals the 'best moment' of his 'painful' season
But the Nigerian international believes winning an international recall because of his goals for the Ibrox club helped soften the blow. Dessers was the top scorer in the Premiership this term and won a surprise call-up for the Super Eagles again. Read more: He celebrated by scoring last week in a friendly against Ghana in London. And he's looked back on his season with a mixture of emotions. Dessers said: "I think it is painful at Rangers when you miss out on a big trophy. "But overall, I personally had some good moments, stayed fit and to get called up again by Nigeria was one of the best moments of my season. "I am very happy for myself to be here." But Dessers admitted he was disappointed former international teammate Leon Balogun was released by the Ibrox club. He said: "Of course I speak with Leon Balogun a lot, even now, we still text. "The form he showed at Rangers this season - at a high level like the Europa League for example - was very good. "I think he still hopes to be part of the Nigeria team moving forward and I hope he will be."
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Football finance expert explains what Rangers takeover will mean in practice – and how it will end ‘civil war' at Ibrox
Will they sell naming rights to Ibrox? MONEY TALKS Football finance expert explains what Rangers takeover will mean in practice – and how it will end 'civil war' at Ibrox ONE of football's leading finance experts has broken down how the Rangers takeover will look in practice. The new American regime, led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, officially took control of the Glasgow club today. Advertisement 2 New Rangers boardroom leader Andrew Cavenagh, with ex-chairman John Gilligan Credit: PA 2 Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has been speaking about the takeover The group has pledged to invest £20m immediately, as Gers look to close the gap on rivals Celtic. Cavenagh will assume the role of chairman with Paraag Marathe also joining the board as vice-chairman. But several questions still remain. What impact will Financial Fair Play (FFP) have? Advertisement Will naming rights to Ibrox be put up for sale? Will the new owners look to make a quick buck? Footie finance guru Kieran Maguire has answered some of those questions. Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Maguire said it's unlikely the US consortium view Rangers as a vehicle for a quick return on their investment. Advertisement He said: "I don't think they are looking for a short-term financial return and it's highly unlikely they'd make one based on historic figures. "They certainly need to monetise Ibrox but it will be a costly investment." What next for Rangers after American takeover is confirmed? Maguire also played down the impact of FFP. But he pointed to the most recent figures that showed Rangers were operating at a loss and insisted that must be sorted ASAP. Advertisement And he thinks fresh faces on the board should end the years of civil WAR that have engulfed the Ibrox club. "FFP is less of an issue than the club losing money and they need to address that first," he said. "They have some big hitters and experienced people joining though. "It's important to cease the civil war that restricted the club to an extent in the last few years and having majority owners in control can address that." Advertisement Of course, for most Rangers fans, the only thing that matters is beating Celtic. The initial £20m injection will go some way to helping with that. "For Rangers it's huge because you now have an indication they're going to be putting £20m of working capital into the club," Maguire said in another interview with STV. "If I was a Rangers fan, I think I would be very pleased. Advertisement "This deal has been flagged, but it is now over the line. "The fact there is now additional cash coming into the club at a time they are looking to recruit a manager and for the summer can be taken as positives. "At the same time, they have a lot of work to do because being second in the Scottish Premiership is nowhere as far as fans of Rangers and Celtic are concerned." Maguire added: "Celtic have surged ahead on and off the pitch, so it's a mammoth task." Advertisement And what of the rumours of Ibrox possibly being renamed to generate income? "Naming rights tend to be over-hyped, unless for brand new stadiums. "Most people use traditional names." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Living the American dream? What takeover means for Rangers
Make Rangers Great slogan plastered over the front of hats now being flogged outside Ibrox points optimistically towards a new era for the Ibrox club, one their supporters hope will reignite the team's have been the dominant force in Scotland this generation - winning 13 of the last 14 league titles - and fans of their rivals are rallying at the prospect of a US-based consortium taking over at Ibrox can lead them to the land of what about the questions posed about this new dawn? What will this do for manager hunt? If anything it should bring the process to a close, rather than slow it down. It's been almost two weeks since it was confirmed Barry Ferguson would leave his role as interim head coach, but in reality many fans assumed a new face would be brought in long before that.A new board would need to be across any potential managerial appointment, so their arrival hints filling the vacancy has now moved a step it is remains to be seen, but it will happen soon. Former Southampton manager Russell Martin has been linked in reports, while the Ibrox club have also spoken to Davide Ancelotti, the son of legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti and his assistant with Real an open letter to supporters on Friday, chairman Andrew Cavenagh and vice-chairman Paraag Marathe said: "Our first priority together is clear: hiring a new men's head coach. That process is already well under way and we look forward to sharing more updates soon."Watch this space. How big will the transfer kitty be? Certainly more than what it would have been otherwise, but the details of this are sketchy as you may expect on day will be £20m of investment made this summer after a share issue and BBC Scotland Sports News Correspondent Chris McLaughlin believes the vast majority of money will be hurled at football that fits in relation to any money that was already earmarked for transfers, or how player sale money impacts it, remains to be if £20m is thrown at the new manager's budget, is it enough to turn the tide domestically? Last season, Celtic made more than £30m on participation alone in the Champions League before you added in ticket sales. Rangers have a lot of catching up to do if big money is reinvested across the city."The new owners coming in, they do have a limited budget and they want Rangers to be sustainable," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Scotland. "Celtic have been a fantastic example of how a club can operate on a break-even basis and then make profits through the transfer market and reinvest that."You've got to look at the total cost of recruiting a player and also the fact that Rangers' finances have been not great in recent years, so you do have operational losses to cover." So who is now running the club? The group, which includes the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers and is led by private healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh, has bought 51% of the Scottish Premiership Cavenagh, chairmanHaving been educated at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania between 1988 and 1992, Cavenagh started his career in commercial banking, working at several publicly traded insurance served on committees and boards of industry groups such as the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) and went on to fill executive roles at Berkley Risk and Berkley Accident & Health prior to eventually kick-starting Philadelphia-based health insurance firm ParetoHealth as chief executive in February, ParetoHealth announced Cavenagh was stepping down as chief executive but was staying on in an executive chairman Marathe, vice-chairmanA native of Saratoga, California, Marathe has spent a quarter of a century with American football club San Francisco 49ers, currently serving as both president of 49ers Enterprises, the club's investment wing, and executive vice-president of football addition to being the NFL club's chief contract negotiator and salary cap architect, he oversees the team's football analytics department and also co-chairs the NFL's future of football been on Leeds United's board for five years, he led 49ers Enterprises' takeover of the English club in July 2023, becoming Taber, board memberMark Taber worked for the Westlake Capital Group and The Boston Consulting Group before, in 2000, joining Boston-based growth equity firm Great Hill is currently managing director but is also on the board of Cavenagh's ParetoHealth as well as Intuitive Health, Clearwave Corporation and Labor Clayton, board memberAndrew Clayton, an economics graduate of Swarthmore College, is co-founder of Cavenagh's ParetoHealth and is its current setting up ParetoHealth, he spent five years as vice-president of the Group Captive Division at Berkley Accident & Health and held the same position with J.B. Collins and Associates and Commonwealth Risk Schneur, board memberGene Schneur is currently co-owner of Leeds United and is managing director and co-founder of SBV RE Investments LLC, a real estate company focused on multi-family 2004 to 2023, Schneur was the managing director and co-founder of Omni New York LLC and Omni America LLC, one of the top affordable housing developers in the serves on the board of GrowNYC, an environmental non-profit in New York, and JDC- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a global humanitarian organisation. Kevin Thelwell, sporting director Kevin Thelwell is moving to Rangers from Everton, where he has been director of football having had the same role at Wolverhampton Wanderers and head of sport at New York Red Everton, he previously held the position of academy manager and then head of football development and recruitment, having had similar positions with Derby County and Preston North End respectively. Previous to that, Thelwell was director of coach education for the Football Association of Wales Trust. From 'underwhelming' to 'great news' - What do the fans think? Ryan: As happy as I am that it is now complete, £20m investment is very underwhelming considering what we expect Celtic to spend and the money they have. With so many positions requiring upgrading, £20m won't finance half of it. The old directors would put in more as loans each year. We could do with more detail from the new With the majority of clubs in the English Premier League US owned, are we heading into dangerous ground where change to the whole structure of UK football is under threat? If two more in England are bought, the 14 can then force through whatever they desire and, while the thought of the fantasy of joining and enjoying their vast rewards, do we really want to see the rest of Scottish football collapse?Jimmy: £20m in funds is still not enough. Celtic are obviously still in a stronger position financially. Second place looms again. £20m for transfers? How about £20m so we can get a good manager in? Getting used to these let downs more and What is not to be positive about here? The credentials of the 49ers Enterprises are so impressive that this is beyond our wildest dreams. This takeover can only benefit the club on all fronts and bring much needed sustained success. Clearly it's key to get the right appointment as head coach, but I have every faith in the new board to get it right and get Rangers back to being the dominant team in Scottish This is great news - new thinking, new approaches, building on a great history of success. Getting a manager in the door is the first step, but driving improvements everywhere will be key.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
New faces in the boardroom and the hunt for a new boss... everything you need to know about the Rangers takeover
The long wait is over. Confirmation that an American consortium has taken control at Rangers sees one chapter in the story of the Ibrox club end and another begin. News that the group of businessmen, led by healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, are prepared to invest £20million by purchasing newly issued shares will excite the club's supporters at the end of another barren season. With significant changes at boardroom level, the consortium has pledged to 'chart a new strategic vision for the club's future, prioritising on-pitch performance and long-term financial sustainability.' But who are the new faces who will sit alongside new chairman Cavenagh and vice Paraag Marathe? What obstacles had to be overcome for the deal to be struck? And what does the future now hold? Here Mail Sport's JOHN McGARRY provides the answers to all the pertinent questions on a momentous day for Rangers. How and when was the deal completed? After months of negotiations, the club changed hands just after 11pm on Thursday night when the Americans bought a 51-per-cent controlling stake. With many of the parties involved in different parts of the world, and e-signatures being remotely exchanged, there was no champagne moment as such. Are there any barriers still to overcome? Not in terms of the change of ownership. It only happened because the Scottish Football Association had confirmed that it had no objections in terms of dual ownership. There were some concerns that Marathe, who's the chairman of Leeds, is a key figure. But the SFA were happy that it's not a multi-club ownership model. Rangers and Leeds are separate entities with different structures at boardroom level and will function independently. The SFA are satisfied there would be no issue if Rangers and Leeds played in the same European competition in future. There's no conflict of interest with Marathe being the new Ibrox vice-chair. Is the £20m an investment a one-off and how will it be spent? It's an 'initial' investment which needs to be approved at a General Meeting on June 23 although this will be a formality. There's no promise of more to come, but there's an expectation that this will be the case. It will predominantly be spent rebuilding the first-team although some may be earmarked to improve infrastructure in the short term. Given chairman Cavenagh's commitment to 'laying a foundation of financial sustainability for the future', it can be taken that Rangers will seek to sign players who can deliver in the here and now but be sold for a substantial profit further down the line. Why was it felt necessary to invest via fresh share capital as opposed to simply spending the money? There would actually be nothing stopping a new owner simply writing a cheque for £20m, but doing it via the buying of freshly issued shares is just better all round. For a start, buying shares is not a loan. It's also better from a balance sheet perspective when you have to be mindful of UEFA's financial fair play regulations. It's just a stronger investment. Who are the new faces in the boardroom? Cavenagh, who succeeds Fraser Thornton as chairman, is a successful entrepreneur, best known in the US for founding healthcare insurance companies including ParetoHealth, which now boasts a million customers. The new vice chairman is Marathe, who'll balance his duties at Ibrox with those at Leeds, where he's currently chairman and San Francisco, where he currently serves as both president of 49ers Enterprises and Executive Vice President of Football Operations. Eugene Schneur, a fellow American, started working life as a mergers and acquisitions attorney before moving into the real estate sector, specialising in affordable housing. He's a board member and co-owner of Leeds. Andrew Clayton is a co-founder and vice chairman of ParetoHealth and a colleague of Cavenagh. Mark Taber is a managing director and member of the executive and investment committees at Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm. In terms of the new shares, who owns what? The finer details of exactly how the 51 per cent have been acquired have yet to emerge. All that's known is that between them the consortium have a majority stake. In practical terms, how will the day-to-day running of the club work? Chief executive Patrick Stewart is based in Glasgow and will lead the executive team. Although he's no longer chairman, Thornton remains on the board and will help with day-to-day operations. Many of the board are spread far and wide. Cavenagh is based in Pennsylvania, Marathe will split his time between Glasgow, Leeds and San Francisco. Schneur's family reside in Miami. Taber is based out in Boston. But in the age of Zoom, it's not so much of an issue these days. Cavenagh will seek to be present at as many Rangers matches as possible. Are any of the old guard still involved? As well as Thornton and Stewart, John Halsted, the Wyoming-based private equity investor, stays as a director together with George Taylor, the Hong Kong based investment banker. Graeme Park, Julian Wolhardt and Alastair Johnston are stepping down from the board but remaining shareholders. Dave King and John Bennett have sold up and now have no official connection to the club. Is there a role for Gretar Steinsson? Not officially. The Icelander will continue as technical director with 49ers Enterprises. However, he's been helping recruit the new head coach and will continue to assist Rangers ' new Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell from afar. Will there be fans' representation on the board? Not as things stand. But there's a strong commitment by the new board to ensure that engagement through things like the fan advisory board and working groups is a cornerstone of the club moving forward. Aside from investing in the first team and getting a player trading model properly up and running, how will the new regime hope to move the club forward? Making better informed decisions in the transfer market is the main focus. The £20m investment will help accelerate that process. It gives stability. But there's a belief that 49ers Enterprises's expertise on the commercial and business support side of the operation will also help to build the business. They know what they're doing in terms of infrastructure investments. But it won't be just putting a new hospitality suite in here and there. They're in for the long haul. Where do we stand in terms of appointing a new manager? The final rounds of talks with the remaining candidates will take place over the weekend with an announcement likely at the start of next week once Thelwell officially starts his new job. Davide Ancelotti is the front-runner. Both parties are on the same page and there is a willingness to get a deal done. However, Russell Martin, Francesco Farioli and Brian Priske are not yet out of the running. Steven Gerrard is apparently out of the race, though, after deciding to stay in the Middle East. What's the reason behind making the company private? Rangers has been an unlisted plc for over a decade so it's not been subjected to certain reporting requirements. The move to take the company private is to make it more agile in terms of investment. There will be the same levels of transparency and shareholders will still get to vote on key resolutions. But Rangers would not necessarily have to do that in the form of a General Meeting.
