Recent reports have suggested Rangers may need to sell star left-back Borna Barisic due to financial issues, nothing could be further from the truth.
It must be interesting working under the perennial sunny skies of Celtic fandom media. No, I mean it. Here’s a group that actively searches out good news for the club even when there is precious little of it to be found. When all avenues of positivity are exhausted, the Green Machine turns to the tried and tested technique of whataboutery, looking no further than across the city to Ibrox for some juicy drama, tenuous or otherwise, to focus on instead.
I’m aware there’s a bit of irony here. We all love a bit of a meltdown going on from the oul enemy. The rivalry is a big part of the fun and, with 10 in a row looming, it helps pile on the pressure just a wee bit. That said, I was shocked to read this morning, and find quoted elsewhere, an article in the mainstream Celtic press suggesting Rangers would need to pawn off Borna Barisic, because the Alfredo Morelos deal had “fallen through”.
Let’s be under no illusion here – The Gers aren’t parting ways with Barisic
Leaving aside how much this smacks of wishful thinking, it’s just another form of the old chestnut, stored away for a rainy day, of our supposed financial difficulties. Celtic player Boli Bolingoli breaks lockdown and throws the game into disrepute? Yes, but don’t forget, Rangers are going bust and Dave King is setting up his eBay account to flog a few first teamers to keep the lights, and fake crowd noise, on at Ibrox. Perfect.
Let’s be under no illusion here. The Gers aren’t parting ways with Barisic, who continues to demonstrate how integral he is to the team and how much he has developed under Gerrard. The latter said as much when questioned about this, following Borna hitting top bins against St Johnstone, as quoted by The Scottish Sun;
"“He’s staying here. He’s not for sale.“If someone did come, they would have to bring an awful lot of money with them.“Borna is happy here, he’s settled.“So we’re even stronger than strong in that sense.”"
Everyone has their price, of course, but Rangers have made it very clear that they will price him out of any potential interest. Does this sound like a club in panic, over withdrawn interest over Morelos, to you?
The stakes are undoubtedly at an all time high this season. We all know that 10 in a row would be hollow seeing the Blues weren’t even in the League for 4 of them, but why give any cause to gloat? The start to the campaign has been fantastic, three wins with three clean sheets, but it’s just barely a start and nothing more. With the pressure sky high, why should Gerrard consider letting his Left Back go, especially when he’s in the form of his career?
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“Ah but, see” they say, “because Rangers are still in financial difficulties and all that” – the Coronavirus pandemic has left the global economy reeling and Rangers, who have had their fare share of wobbles since recovering from administration, are most likely to feel the impact. £10 million financing was reported as essential in the last Annual General Meeting, that plus all the overheads and setbacks from COVID-19 would necessitate some transfer fees and wage restructuring, right?
Not so. Rangers have been, quietly, working themselves back a state of financial self-sufficiency for years. The introduction of MyGers suddenly allowed upwards of 20,000 Bears across the Globe to invest money directly into the club. The new kit deal and sponsorships only add further to that, with the club claiming much more investment is already secured.
Beyond all that, lies one little inconvenient fact that dispels all the green smoke and mirrors – clubs didn’t suddenly lose interest in signing Morelos, Rangers set his price beyond their reach. If we really needed a fire sale, we could cash in on Alfredo for an easy £10-12million and be done with it, but as it turns out Gerrard really wants to keep him too. We aren’t a selling club anymore, we are a winning club, a club being built to usher in a new, blue, era of domination in Scottish football.
Whether that materialises or not remains to be seen, but, for now, we can be happy that the skies over Ibrox look a lot less gloomy than other parts of the city.