If there is one football club on planet Earth which knows all about financial difficulties, it’s Rangers.
The Gers went to the brink and then some in 2012, being unceremoniously papped to the bottom tier of the SPFL after the club’s holding company entered administration and then liquidation.
What happened at Rangers remains a source of huge contention, with the club’s financial mismanagement still having a longstanding impact to this day.
Only this summer did Rangers manage to draw a line under the suffocating retail contracts of old.
But whilst Rangers fans have stood by the famous old club, all the way to a Premiership title and almost a fairytale Europa League win in 2022, another of European football’s most historic sides is on the brink.
And there’s one cult Ibrox hero flying their flag as they look to produce a Rangers-esque climb back to the top.
Bordeaux relegated to fourth tier of French football
Ligue 1 giants Bordeaux are one of French football’s biggest and most historic clubs.
But the six-time national champions now find themselves playing in the fourth tier of the French game.
Zinedine Zidane’s former club were first relegated to Ligue 2, but this summer the club suffered a fatal post-administration blow when they were sent to National 2, the fourth level of French football.
Spending above their means and the general financial problems facing French football have ensured Bordeaux face a perilously uncertain future.
But amid fierce splits amongst rival fan groups, the eccentric leadership of Gerard Lopez and last minute goals from Andy Carroll, one Rangers cult hero who seems perfectly suited to such chaos is fighting the club’s cause.
Ex-Rangers striker Dado Prso fighting Bordeaux battle
Ex-Rangers striker Dado Prso is one of the most iconic Ibrox stars of the noughties and one of Croatian football’s most legendary figures.
A never-say die style forward who would risk it all to score, and someone who also had immense technique, Rangers signed Prso in the aftermath of AS Monaco’s run to the Champions League Final of 2004.
Spending three seasons at Rangers, Prso’s time in Glasgow is a montage of sing-alongs, head-bandages and heroic moments scoring for the club.
The style of Prso and the mentality of Rangers was a match made in blue heaven and has since kickstarted a long-standing love affair with Croatian footballers in Govan.
Now the Croatian finds himself back where it all began for himself in France, and more specifically working as assistant manager to Bruno Irles at Bordeaux.
With Bordeaux now five games into their first season in the French fourth division, it’s the beginning of a a long journey for Les Girondins.
But if Dado Prso can channel some of the never-say-die spirit that helped him win the hearts of Rangers fans, and also saw Rangers overcome a potential extinction event, then the famous old French club, which dates back to 1881, has a fighting chance.
