Paul Gascoigne revealed he turned down the chance to sign for two Premier League heavyweights in favour of joining Rangers in 1995.
The Geordie genius became a legend for the Ibrox club despite spending just three years of his iconic career in Glasgow.
Gazza joined Gers from Lazio and went on to confirm his status as one of the greatest players Scottish football has ever witnessed, certainly over the last 30 years.
Remarkably, he picked up both the PFA Scotland Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year awards in his first season as Rangers won the Double.
Another league title would follow the next campaign as well as a Scottish League Cup winners medal. All in all, Gazza scored 39 goals in 104 appearances for Rangers before leaving for Middlesbrough in a deal worth around £3.45m.
Gascoigne is fondly remembered amongst Rangers supporters even to this day and he too will always speak effervescently about his stint at one of the world’s most successful teams.
In fact, he went as far as saying if he had the chance to turn the clock back, Gazza would relive his spell at Rangers one more time.
But his time at Rangers may not even have came to fruition if his head was turned by interest from two Premier League giants keen on bringing Gazza back to England in 1995.
Gascoigne turned down Chelsea and Aston Villa
Speaking to the Rangers Museum Lotto in 2022, Paul Gascoigne recalled the time he was told by his Lazio manager at the time, Dino Zoff, that three British clubs wanted to sign him.
Those were Chelsea, Aston Villa and Rangers – but Gazza wasted no time in choosing who he wanted to play for after having to clarify it was Glasgow Rangers and not Queen’s Park Rangers.
He said: “I was in holiday in Tampa once and I saw Walter Smith and said to my wife at the time that I would love to play for him one day.
“I remember Terry Butcher told me years ago not to mock Scottish football until I tried it and he was right. When I was leaving Lazio, Dino Zoff told me Chelsea, Aston Villa and Rangers were in for me.
“I told him I didn’t want to sign for Queens Park Rangers but he said it was Glasgow Rangers and that was it. I said get them over, straight away!
“When I spoke to Walter he asked me what I was missing in football and I told him it was playing with a smile on my face.
“I wasn’t getting that in Italy and he told me I would get that here and he was spot on. When I signed I had blonde here and Rangers fans had turned up with their hair dyed blonde too.
“I never thought I would see anything like I did when at the airport when I signed for Lazio as there were so many fans there but the reaction at Rangers was incredible.”
Gazza also rejected Leeds United
The now 57-year-old has also mentioned in the past that Yorkshire giants Leeds United were very close to securing his services before the move to Rangers.
He told the Yorkshire Post, via the Daily Record, in 2019 that if he was to return to England from Lazio, the only club he would join was The Whites.
However, he was persuaded to join Walter Smith’s dominant Rangers side and it’s safe to say he never regretted the decision.
Gascoigne said: “I nearly signed for Leeds, but I ended up turning them down and joining Rangers. Chelsea also wanted to sign me, but I was not going there and the only English club I would have gone for was Leeds.”
“But I ended up going to Rangers. Terry Butcher said: ‘go there and give it a try’ as they had Ally McCoist and Gordon Durie there.
“I went there and never looked back, but I think it would have been the same with Leeds. But I didn’t realise that after signing for Rangers, the next England game was at Elland Road and I got hammered!”
