Now called the SPFL once upon a time the SPL was full of some world class talent, admittedly it was mainly in Glasgow but it still provided an exciting rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. And apparently the greatest striker of the generation nearly moved to Scotland too.
In 1997 Celtic signed a pretty unknown Swede by the name of Henrik Larsson. By the time the dreadlocks had gone and he left Celtic Park he had become a household name and a genuine world class player, that's why Barcelona and later Manchester United both signed him to make impacts in their trophy wins.
However if things had worked out differently then Larsson wouldn't have been the headline striker in Glasgow, instead that would have gone to Ibrox where Ronaldo of all people nearly joined Rangers.
Advert
His agent revealed just how close the Brazilian was to leaving the Camp Nou for Scotland due to his £20 million release clause, "The clause in his contract was a novelty at the time and it scared a lot of clubs off. The three who were really interested were Inter, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers, who followed negotiations all the way."
Oddly it seems the likes of St Mirren, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hearts would never have seen the two time World Cup winner in action as the Gers were apparently keeping him free only for Champions League games with the agent adding;
"The offer from Glasgow Rangers was incredible. They told us he didn't have to play on a Saturday in the Scottish League. They were desperate to win the Champions League and were going to allow him to play in European matches only."
Somehow we can't imagine he wouldn't have played in the Old Firm games.
Advert
In the end it wasn't to be as the young Brazilian chose Milan instead of Glasgow with his agent explaining, "But Inter had followed him from when he used to play in Brazil. Barcelona reneged on a new contract and Inter were the first club to meet the release clause so he went there."
Still, Michael Mols was pretty good...
(Via Daily Mail)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football, Ronaldo, SPL, Scotland, Rangers