Cast your mind back to January 2022 and Rangers were in a good place on and off the pitch with Giovanni van Bronckhorst at the helm.
Top of the Scottish Premiership and with a glamour Europa League tie with Borussia Dortmund on the horizon, there was a lot to get excited about as the manager set about strengthening his squad.
In came Amad Diallo, a £19m teenager from Man Utd, but it was the parading of Aaron Ramsey as Rangers‘ newest hero for the Ibrox faithful that really got everyone going.
Ramsey landed in Glasgow via Turin, but it was at the Emirates and for Arsenal where he made his name as one of the continent’s best.
Hyped as a potential game changer, Ramsey missing a penalty in the Europa League final will ultimately be what he is forever remembered for.
Rangers flop Ramsey reveals Man Utd transfer near miss
Speaking on Sky Sports Monday Night Football, the 86-times capped Wales international explained how he so nearly starred in a different team of a red persuasion.
When asked by Jame Carragher if he was ever shown around Man Utd’s training ground, Ramsey joked:
“Yeah, but it wasn’t Gary (Neville). I think he was busy that day!
“No, it was the assistant manager at the time.”
The 33-year old then explained that Sir Alex Ferguson was a big fan: “He was on the phone a few times and tried to convince me to go there with the initial thought for them to loan me back, but I just wanted to go on then.”
What was interesting was how Liverpool were priced out of a move for the then Cardiff City youngster. Ramsey said: “There were some discussions with Rafa [Benitez].
“But at the time they couldn’t really get to that fee – I think they could do something around the £1m or £2m mark, but then it went above that to £5m.
“Rafa was very good and the presentation he gave was superb.”
How much did Ramsey cost Rangers in Juventus loan deal?
At Rangers, things didn’t quite go to plan. Unfit when he arrived, Ramsey never got himself into the position to play regularly and managed just 13 appearances for the Famous.
A grand total of 622 minutes.
His two goals and two assists saw a glimpse of what he was capable of, however, scoring the opening goal in a title deciding Old Firm was as good as it got – that he limped off before half-time summed up his time at Rangers.
With a loan fee widely reported to be £2m and Capology claiming that his weekly wage was above that of top earners Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe – circa £30,000 per week – Ramsey made a staggering £4,000 per minute that he was on the pitch.
As his last kick for Rangers painfully demonstrated, that’s not all he cost them.
