Ianis Hagi could have joined Russian giants Spartak Moscow for £10 million shortly before ending up in the Scottish Premiership with Rangers.
That is according to Gica Popescu, the former Romania international and the brother-in-law of Ianis Hagi’s father, the legendary Gheorghe Hagi.
And it appears that Spartak Moscow have Hagi Sr to blame for a breakdown in negotiations with the now-Rangers owned playmaker, who was plying his trade at Viitorul Constanta at the time.
The Russian outfit offered a cool £10 million. Hagi, however, would move to Belgium with KRC Genk for around a third of that fee with his father feeling that the Champions League football on offer in Limburg mattered more than the sizeable pay rise the then-rising star would have earned in the north.
Rangers ace could have moved to Russia for £10m
“Ianis had an offer of 12 million euros from Spartak Moscow,” Popescu tells Digi24. “I negotiated it. Why wasn’t (the deal) done? Gheorghe (Hagi) didn’t want it.
“Gheorghe chose the sporting project. Genk were in the Champions League and (Hagis father) said; ‘I want him to play in the Champions League’.”
Spartak were not in any mood to give up that easily, however.
“On the other side was Spartak Moscow, who offered 12 million euros and did not stop there,” Popescu adds. “When I told them that the transfer had fallen through, the owner of the club called and said; ‘I’m coming by plane to Constanta. If money is the problem. I’m coming by a private jet to re-negotiate’.
“We were at 12 million euros then. And Gica said; ‘No, don’t come! Ianis goes to Genk for 3.5 million (euros)!’
“At Spartak, he (would have) had a salary four or five times higher than he got on the other side. You don’t know what would have happened at Spartak, or what he would have done there.
It’s hard to say…”
Future uncertain
Now a Rangers player, Hagi’s future beyond the current campaign remains uncertain.
He is on loan at Deportivo Alaves in Spain but has struggled for regular minutes at the La Liga outfit. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Hagi’s Ibrox career can be revived – a la Ridvan Yilmaz perhaps – but the presence of Tom Lawrence, Todd Cantwell, Mohamed Diomande and co at Rangers means it is hard to see where he fits in.
