Former Rangers chairman Dave King has branded the behaviour of toxic High Street billionaire Mike Ashley during his time at the club as “disgusting”.
Rangers’ largest shareholder was speaking to leading Rangers fan media Four Lads Had a Dream as he answered questions about the proposed fan-led purchase of his shares through Club 1872.
The ex-Ibrox chief wants fans to partake in a £13m share purchase of his shareholding which would make Club 1872 the single largest shareholders in Rangers.
Part of the reason for this is to ensure the likes of Mike Ashley can “Never Again” get their claws into Rangers after a tumultuous boardroom tussle which is only now coming to an end.
An infamous retail deal with Mike Ashely – signed during the parasitical old regime – infamously only gave Rangers 7p for every £1 of merchandise sold.
Boycotts and court cases aplenty followed as Rangers fans suffered through years of neglect but Dave King took the battle to Sports Direct and finally, their influence at Ibrox has been eroded.
With things personal between King and Ashley, he lambasted the High Street billionaire for his time at Rangers and claims the club’s escaped “the jaws of death” by getting out of the retail contract.
“Sports Direct was critical in the sense that the jaws of death that Mike Ashley had around the club were firmly locked through various legal relationships,” King told Four Lads Had a Dream.
“If we were unable to unlock that, then the club could not have made the progress it has made over the last couple of years.
“The dealing with Mike Ashley and Sports Direct was absolutely vital to getting to the position that we have reached today.
“I think from Mike Ashley’s point of view as well, the extent to which a businessman of that immense wealth and capability invested in Rangers and got involved in this indicates just how important it was to him as well. It was a fight that he wanted to win.
“The absurdity of him trying to put me in jail over Christmas for Contempt of Court for looking after Rangers’ interests indicates the depths and levels of, quite frankly, disgusting behaviour that Sports Direct went to to try and retain their grip on Rangers.
“It is absolutely vital that we have been able to release that completely, definitely and absolutely.”
A man largely heralded as the saviour of Rangers, King is now looking recoup the majority of the investment he made at the club during their darkest hour and believes partial fan ownership can be a lasting part of his “legacy”.
Click HERE to listen to the Four Lads Had a Dream interview in full as he explains why the share purchase with Club 1872 is an opportunity which supporters should not pass up.
