Agent reveals how close Ronaldo came to Rangers move

The agent of former Brazilian striker Ronaldo has revealed how close the legendary figure came to joining Rangers.

Ronaldo enjoyed a stellar career from his breakthrough at Cruzeiro in 1993 to his eventual 2011 retirement with Corinthians, and continually courted interest from Europe’s biggest clubs.

The 39-year-old moved to the continent with PSV in 1994, impressing sufficiently to earn a move to Barcelona.

He spent a year in Spain before signalling his intention to leave in 1997, with Rangers one of three clubs expressing an interest.

His agent, Giovanni Branchini, has revealed that that Scottish club offered to buy out his Nou Camp contract for £20m, but he chose to join Inter Milan instead.

“The clause in his contract was a novelty at the time and it scared a lot of clubs off,” Branchini said. “The three who were really interested were Inter, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers, who followed negotiations all the way.

“The offer from Glasgow Rangers was incredible. They told us he didn’t have to play on a Saturday in the Scottish League.

“They were desperate to win the Champions League and were going to allow him to play in the European matches only.

“But Inter had followed him from when he used to play in Brazil. Barcelona reneged on a new contract and Inter were the first club to meet the release clause so he went there.”