RANGERS CONFIDENTIAL: Why Ibrox remains box-office gold in Europe... and the former Celtic player who's brought a Rangers star back in from the cold

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For all their shortcomings on and off the pitch these last few years, there is no doubting Rangers’ crowd-pulling power.

According to a UEFA report that claims to be the ‘ultimate guide to European football finances’, the Ibrox club are among the continent’s top 20 for gate revenue.

The governing body’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape Report records that, in 2024, Rangers generated £44.4million at the turnstile, a figure roughly similar to that of Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

It is 47 per cent more than they earned in 2019, since when Rangers have enjoyed lengthy, well-attended runs in Europe, most notably to the Europa League final under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst.

This season, they are at it again, reaching the last 16 of the same competition and threatening to go even further. As if to underline the point, Ibrox will be packed for this week’s visit by Fenerbahce.

Of course, it doesn’t equate to overall profits, a table for which shows Celtic among Europe’s top 10, thanks largely to successful player trading and participation in the Champions League. They also sit in the top 20 for kit and merchandising revenue.

Thanks to their loyal fans, Rangers are among the continent's top 20 clubs for gate revenue

The Rangers fans unfurl an eye-catching display in this season's Europa League tie with Spurs

But it is a reminder of Rangers’ potential, a glimpse of what could be achieved if only they had a board as strong as their support and a team that did not limit its best efforts to the Europa League.

None of which will have escaped the notice of the American investors who are ready to complete a takeover. 

Bellamy brings Rangers star in from cold

Rangers player Tom Lawrence has come back in from the international wilderness for his country, and it's all thanks to a former Celtic star. 

The 31-year-old hasn't played for Wales since March 2021, but has now been recalled by national team manager Craig Bellamy.

Why was Lawrence out in the cold for so long, you might well ask?

Well, it was once claimed by Wayne Rooney,  his former manager at Derby County,  that Bellamy's predecessor,  Rob Page, was consistently ignoring the player due to 'a bit of history' between the pair.

Page vehemently denied this, insisting that he hadn't taken Lawrence to the Euro finals simply because he had better options in his position at the time.

Tom Lawrence has been called back into Wales squad after four years in the wilderness

Craig Bellamy insists that Tom Lawrence will be a welcome addition to his Wales squad

In any case, that hasn't prevented Bellamy from calling up Lawrence for the opening World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan on March 22 and the away fixture against North Macedonia three days later.

In fact, he replaces Aaron Ramsey in the squad after the former Rangers star injured his hamstring playing for Cardiff earlier this week.

Bellamy, who had a memorable loan spell at Parkhead 20 years ago, said: 'I've been trying to get Tom involved in the last couple of camps, but he's been injured.

'We've been in contact and we've been waiting for the right moment to bring him in.

'He has good understanding of the game. Good discipline. He'll definitely add to the squad.' 

Cummings wins a fifth title 

Unlike the Rangers team he left after a loan spell in 2018, Jason Cummings has made quite a habit of winning titles.

In fact, the striker who spent half a season at Ibrox under caretaker manager Graeme Murty can claim to have won five leagues in his well-travelled career.

Having already won the Championship with Hibs, League One with Luton and the A-League Championship with Central Coast Mariners, he now has back-to-back Indian Super League titles under his belt.

He and another former Rangers player, Greg Stewart, are part of the Mohun Bagan Super Giant side who have made it two titles in a row under manager Jose Molina.

Jason Cummings (right) holds the trophy aloft after winning the Indian Super League

It's now back-to-back titles for Cummings since he joined the Mohun Bagan Super Giant side

Another former Rangers player, Greg Stewart, is also part of Cummings' team in Kolkata

This season, the Kolkata-based side have made history along the way, setting an unprecedented points total and putting together a record-breaking run at home.

They rounded off a memorable campaign with a 2-0 victory against second-placed Goa at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, when Stewart’s stoppage-time goal was set up by Cummings.

Stewart, who had already won the title with Jamshedpur and Mumbai City, later paid tribute to the fans who turned out in huge numbers and can now look forward to the playoffs.

‘The atmosphere was top,’ said Stewart. ‘How many was it, 60,000? It’s amazing. This is why we love football, you know. Playing in front of these fans, they support us every week. And to give them the silverware, it’s obviously what we wanted to achieve.’

Stars switch Scotland for Turkey 

Rangers' Europa League clash against Turkish opposition offered another opportunity to study the many links between the Ibrox club and the south east European nation.

Somewhat surprisingly, Rangers have only ever had two players from Turkey on their books — current full-back Ridvan Yilmaz and, of course, the wild-haired chain-smoking midfield maestro Tugay Kerimoglu.

However, the traffic has been far busier going in the other direction, particularly in recent times, with no fewer than five men having left Ibrox to open up a new chapter in the Super Lig in the last two years.

Ryan Kent kicked off the trend in the summer of 2023 when signing for Fenerbahce after running his contract down in Glasgow — a switch that was about as far removed from Rangers’ vision of a player-trading model as possible. 

John Lundstram has been a relative success with Trabzonspor since joining them from Ibrox

The same move turned out to be a disaster for Borna Barisic, who is now with Leganes

Ryan Kent, right, also had a difficult time at Fenerbahce and he is currently without a club

Turkey was the destination for ex-Rangers star Ryan Jack who is now playing for Erokspor

But the former Liverpool winger’s time in Turkey proved a bit of a disaster, with the player largely ostracised under two different managers as his inconsistent form and attitude proved incompatible with the Istanbul club’s high standards.

Kent is still without a club after no takers were forthcoming in the January window.

Another to have tried and failed in Turkey was former Ibrox boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who managed just 20 games at Besiktas before being shown the door. Somewhat harshly, it must be said, given he won six of his first eight matches — including a 5-0 Turkish Super Cup thrashing of Galatasaray. But it appears his face — or perhaps his persona — didn’t seem to fit when the going got tough.

Last summer, John Lundstram and Borna Barisic were snapped up by Trabzonspor following the expiry of their Ibrox contracts. While Lundstram has largely won over underwhelmed supporters, Barisic managed only 129 minutes of action at the Black Sea outfit and has since move to Leganes, where he cruelly suffered ligament damage ten minutes into his La Liga debut.

Ryan Jack also made the move to Istanbul after leaving Rangers, although he perched up at one of the city’s less glamorous outfits, second-tier side Erokspor. A far cry from the intense spotlight in Glasgow, Jack’s first outing for his new side saw him listed on the team sheet as ‘Ryan James’.

There could have been an even larger Govan enclave in Istanbul, too, with James Tavernier having been the subject of sustained speculation over a move to Trabzonspor and Scott Wright having gone as far as flying out to discuss a move to Pendikspor before deciding that the lifestyle wouldn’t be to his his liking and opting for Birmingham instead.

Perhaps he’d had a word with Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd, who both had short spells in Turkey in 2011 before flying back to resume their careers on UK soil.

Regardless, the Turks clearly have a taste for Rangers men... and after that first leg performance against Fenerbahce, don’t be surprised to see more Ibrox first-teamers offered a boat ride up the Bosphorus in the near future.

Camille more than ready

Rangers’ strength in depth could prove to be crucial as the SWPL title race enters a run-in that will test resources to the limit.

A punishing post-split conclusion to the top flight will start this weekend, when the first of 10 rounds of fixtures is contested.

With two games a week during the campaign’s closing stretch, the club with the best and biggest squad is sure to be in the mix.

That ought to be promising for Rangers, who showed last weekend that their quality does not begin and end with their starting XI.

Camille Lafaix came off the bench to score against Spartans in the Scottish Cup quarter final

Rangers have high hopes for French-American Lafaix as they enter crucial part of season

Kirsty Howat was also on target for Rangers in their Scottish Cup win over Spartans

They were struggling to break down Spartans in a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Broadwood until Camille Lafaix came off the bench with 22 minutes left.

The French-American, part of a triple substitution, quickly broke the deadlock and was involved in the build-up to Kirsty Howat’s second.

Not only did the 2-0 win secure Jo Potter’s side a place in the last four, it demonstrated the strength in reserve that she will be able to call upon in the weeks ahead.

Potter was full of praise for Lafaix, who was signed at the start of the season from Bordeaux and has scored more than a few late goals as a substitute.

‘Camille has done that for us time and time again,’ said Potter. ‘You know what you’re going to get from her when she comes on. She has bags of energy. It’s rightly so that she comes knocking on my door again because she’s doing this week in, week out.

‘She’s an absolute joy and a dream to coach. We give her information, she takes it on board and tries to be better. There’s no sulking or the shoulders going down; she doesn’t let it beat her up. She has a great attitude and is a joy to have in the squad.’

Third in the table, two points behind Glasgow City and Hibs, Rangers would welcome a few more decisive strikes from Lafaix in the weeks ahead. Their first post-split game is at Motherwell on Sunday.