Controversial former Rangers star Carlos Pena looks set to retire from playing football following his release from Honduran side Vida.
The 32-year-old midfielder was once one of Mexico’s brightest talents but off-field issues have contributed to a substantial decline which appeared to intensify following a failed move to Rangers.
At least that’s according to Johnny McFarlane of the Herald & Times Group, who believes the exit from Honduras will be the final nail in the coffin of a career blighted by drinking problems.
The report claims the Gers paid £3m to sign Carlos Pena following the appointment of Pedro Caixinha in 2017, something which the Portuguese later admitted came despite knowledge of the player’s issues with alcohol.
Also joining on high wages, this was Pena’s first foray outside of Mexico and it turned into something of a disaster for everyone involved.
Carlos Pena sympathy has dried up at Rangers
At a time when Rangers needed shrewd business decisions, the club flapped with several high profile transfers failing to come off under the reign of Caixinha, with Carlos Pena the worst of the bunch.
A doomed stint in Poland with GKS Tychy would follow the midfielder’s Ibrox release in February 2019 with Carlos Pena also turning out for three clubs in Mexico and sides in El Salvador and Guatemala after signing for Rangers.
It’s been a series of unfortunate events for the midfielder but it’s admittedly hard to feel any sympathy for the player given a recent court case Carlos Pena’s team raised against Rangers.
Rangers were successful with an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA had initially ruled the Ibrox side would have to compensate Pena over £1m for the early release from his contract.
However, the Gers successfully argued that they were not responsible for the player during his time on loan at Cruz Azul and that Carlos Pena’s contract was ripped up lawfully “due to multiple examples of dishonesty over his abuse of alcohol”.
Meanwhile, one former Rangers star claims he one day wants to return to Ibrox.
