I warned Rangers not to sack Giovanni van Bronckhorst, reveals former owner Sir David Murray
It's one of a number of revelations from his major sitdown with the Scottish Sun
SLIPPERY SLOPE I warned Rangers not to sack Giovanni van Bronckhorst, reveals former owner Sir David Murray
SIR DAVID MURRAY has revealed he told Rangers NOT to sack Giovanni van Bronckhorst — and feels the Dutchman got a 'raw deal' at Ibrox.
Van Bronckhorst, who was bought and sold as a player during Murray's Gers reign, led the team to the Europa League final and won the Scottish Cup three years ago.
Advertisement
5
Former Rangers owner David Murray speaks to Roger Hannah at his Perthshire home
5
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Credit: Getty
5
Giovanni van Bronckhorst with the Scottish Cup
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
He was sacked less than six months later and replaced by Michael Beale, who lasted just a year in the Ibrox dugout.
Now former owner Murray has told for the first time how he advised then chairman Douglas Park and his director son Graeme not to make the change.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Murray said: 'I met the Parks at the time van Bronckhorst was coming to an end.
'I suggested that they stood still with van Bronckhorst and keep him.
Advertisement
"It seemed pointless to get rid of him.
'I don't want to seem smart after the event but the Beale exercise did not work and it cost a lot of money.
'There is van Bronckhorst now so highly rated that he's about to become the No 2 at Liverpool.
'He did reasonably well in Turkey and won the Super Cup with Besiktas.
Advertisement
'He was one penalty kick from being up there with the greats. I think he got a raw deal. But it's not my decision. I'm only speaking as an observer now.'
Van Brockhorst cost Gers £5million in the summer of 1998 and spent three years at Ibrox under countryman Dick Advocaat before an £8m move to Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.
Sir Sean Connery's secret £1 MILLION investment in Rangers revealed
When he returned as boss to succeed title-winning Steven Gerrard, he led Gers to the 2022 Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville.
They lost on penalties after a nerve-shredding 1-1 draw and were denied just a second European trophy in the club's history.
Advertisement
They then beat Hearts at Hampden days later to lift to the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years.
But a poor start to the next campaign prompted the board to axe van Bronckhorst, now linked with a job as Arne Slot's assistant at English Premier League champions Liverpool.
Murray, who owned Gers for 23 years, believes the call was one of many decisions that didn't need to be made.
He said: 'You had a dysfunctional board. Honestly, when you have directors putting in loans of £2m or £3m, everyone wants a say.
Advertisement
'You can't run a football club by committee.
'Whether it's me or whoever, you need one dominant person to be making decisions.
'It's difficult because everything was done with good intentions.
'But it's just not been joined-up thinking. They've not been working as a team.
Advertisement
'I looked at the directors' box sometimes and thought 'He's put in £2m, he's put in £5m'. It's like rotating who's putting the loans in.
'Some of the people will need their loans back.'
Murray sold the club to Craig Whyte for £1 in May 2011.
But Gers nosedived into administration and liquidation and plunged into the fourth tier of Scottish football.
Advertisement
5
Douglas Park (left) with John Bennett
Credit: Willie Vass
The steel tycoon maintains those financial catastrophes were avoidable. Despite invitations, he has never returned to Ibrox since — and isn't sure he'll go back in the future.
He revealed: 'I've been asked back but my life has moved on. Life has different stages.
'I was at Rangers for too long — 23 years was far too long. It was a huge part of my life.
Advertisement
'Although people remember the difficulty at the end, which I accept, we had some great times as well.
'I've not been back to a game. Yes, I would go back.
'But there's nothing worse than the old guy going back to the place he ran before. It's time to move on. I've got a different life.
'The past is the past and, for me, it's time to move on.'
Advertisement
Writing in his new autobiography, Murray has apologised for selling Gers to Whyte.
He cites the global financial collapse and personal health issues as contributory factors in the decision.
5
Former Rangers owner David Murray speaks to Roger Hannah at his Perthshire home
Credit: Andrew Barr
But he also believes the hardline stance of HMRC — which later softened — scared off other potential buyers and pushed him into the arms of Whyte.
Advertisement
He said: 'HMRC paralysed the club. Okay, I'm responsible, I'm in charge.
'But they put in fines and costs for running what they called an 'illegal' tax scheme.
'When we handed the club over, there was a £75m HMRC liability hanging over us. It became greater because Craig Whyte didn't pay the bills.
'But I find it so annoying that the final settled amount — after HMRC finally admitted it wasn't an illegal scheme — was £33m.
Advertisement
'If they had been open and honest in the negotiations at the time, we could have handled it.
The David Murray files
Ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray APOLOGISES to fans for selling club to Craig Whyte 14 years after deal led to collapse
My dad took the fall for 'disastrous' deal & was jailed for FRAUD, reveals ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray
Inside 007 legend Sean Connery's secret £1m Rangers investment as bombshell details revealed for first time
Advertisement
Former Rangers supremo Sir David Murray admits his decision to sell to Craig Whyte 'tarnished' his Ibrox legacy
'I still have shards in my leg', says ex-Rangers supremo Sir David Murray as he breaks 50-year silence on car crash hell
"I can't do this" - Sir David Murray reveals that he almost sold Rangers for £40million in 2005
Ex-Rangers owner Murray recalls chilling phone call after fatal private jet crash which Scots F1 hero walked away from
Advertisement
'They sterilised the club and put people off.
'Are you telling me the squad wasn't worth £33m or the stadium wasn't worth £33m?
'People can blame me all they want but, with the greatest respect, there was a global recession.
'It was so bad the Royal Bank were about an hour away from no money coming out of the ATMs.
Advertisement
'Most people who have dealt with me in business still deal with me.
'I'm close to people. When people work with you and they're in the trenches, they know the truth.
'People standing on the touchline and commenting don't know the full story.'
- Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops.
Advertisement
Preorder on Amazon here.
Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
3 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
England prepare for European Women's Championship by thrashing Jamaica
The Lionesses were looking to gather some momentum before they face France in their Euros curtain-raiser next Saturday and were more or less out of sight at the half-time whistle. Ella Toone struck twice from distance either side of Lucy Bronze's header to give England a three-goal lead at the break, but things could have been different if Kayla McKenna's effort for the visitors had not been ruled out by VAR for offside at 1-0. Victory in our #WEURO2025 send-off match! 🤩 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 29, 2025 England fans cheered when Lauren James was introduced midway through the second period for her first minutes since suffering a hamstring injury in April. England still had room for more though. Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo, Aggie Beever-Jones and Beth Mead also got in on the act to give England the perfect send off before they attempt to defend their European crown. As expected, the home side started in dominant fashion and twice came close through Jess Carter and Stanway from outside the box. However, it was not long before England made the breakthrough. Toone picked up the ball in space and curled one beyond the despairing dive of Liya Brooks to open the scoring in the 10th minute. For all of England's early dominance, the visitors thought they had an equaliser out of nowhere until VAR gave Sarina Wiegman's side a reprieve. Amelia van Zanten's corner was nudged on by Allyson Swaby and into the path of McKenna, whose shot deflected off Alex Greenwood and trickled over the line. The players ran off to celebrate, but VAR showed Kalyssa van Zanten was stood in an offside position and in the line of sight of goalkeeper Hannah Hampton when the shot came in as referee Franziska Wildfeuer ruled the goal out. England rubbed salt in the wound and doubled their lead, Jess Carter crossing on to the head of Bronze as she nodded into a empty goal after Brooks came racing off her line. The hosts continued to pepper the Jamaica goal, Bronze's clever flick setting beautifully for Lauren Hemp to fire against the post 10 minutes before the break while Russo then hit the upright shortly after. The Lionesses were 3-0 up in first-half stoppage time when Toone curled another great effort from the edge of the area for her second via a post. England's fourth came 14 minutes into the second half. Brooks and the Jamaica defence did well to deny a barrage of pressure initially, but could not stop Stanway's bullet effort into the roof of the net. The defending European champions showed no mercy, James making an instant impact after coming off the bench and floated an inch-perfect cross for Russo to head home at the far post. England rounded off an easy afternoon in Leicester when Beever-Jones climbed off the bench and poked beyond Brooks before Mead fired home in stoppage time.
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
England prepare for European Women's Championship by thrashing Jamaica
The Lionesses were looking to gather some momentum before they face France in their Euros curtain-raiser next Saturday and were more or less out of sight at the half-time whistle. Ella Toone struck twice from distance either side of Lucy Bronze's header to give England a three-goal lead at the break, but things could have been different if Kayla McKenna's effort for the visitors had not been ruled out by VAR for offside at 1-0. Victory in our #WEURO2025 send-off match! 🤩 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 29, 2025 England fans cheered when Lauren James was introduced midway through the second period for her first minutes since suffering a hamstring injury in April. England still had room for more though. Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo, Aggie Beever-Jones and Beth Mead also got in on the act to give England the perfect send off before they attempt to defend their European crown. As expected, the home side started in dominant fashion and twice came close through Jess Carter and Stanway from outside the box. However, it was not long before England made the breakthrough. Toone picked up the ball in space and curled one beyond the despairing dive of Liya Brooks to open the scoring in the 10th minute. For all of England's early dominance, the visitors thought they had an equaliser out of nowhere until VAR gave Sarina Wiegman's side a reprieve. Amelia van Zanten's corner was nudged on by Allyson Swaby and into the path of McKenna, whose shot deflected off Alex Greenwood and trickled over the line. The players ran off to celebrate, but VAR showed Kalyssa van Zanten was stood in an offside position and in the line of sight of goalkeeper Hannah Hampton when the shot came in as referee Franziska Wildfeuer ruled the goal out. England rubbed salt in the wound and doubled their lead, Jess Carter crossing on to the head of Bronze as she nodded into a empty goal after Brooks came racing off her line. The hosts continued to pepper the Jamaica goal, Bronze's clever flick setting beautifully for Lauren Hemp to fire against the post 10 minutes before the break while Russo then hit the upright shortly after. The Lionesses were 3-0 up in first-half stoppage time when Toone curled another great effort from the edge of the area for her second via a post. England's fourth came 14 minutes into the second half. Brooks and the Jamaica defence did well to deny a barrage of pressure initially, but could not stop Stanway's bullet effort into the roof of the net. The defending European champions showed no mercy, James making an instant impact after coming off the bench and floated an inch-perfect cross for Russo to head home at the far post. England rounded off an easy afternoon in Leicester when Beever-Jones climbed off the bench and poked beyond Brooks before Mead fired home in stoppage time.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
12th-inning uprising carries Mariners over Rangers
June 29 - Donovan Solano's groundout in the 12th inning drove in the go-ahead run and Mitch Garver followed with a two-run homer as the Seattle Mariners outlasted the Texas Rangers 6-4 on Sunday afternoon to clinch a three-game series in Arlington, Texas. Solano and Garver's heroics off Texas reliever Cole Winn (0-1) capped a contest in which the teams combined to go 8-for-31 with runners in scoring position. Trent Thornton (2-0) pitched the final two innings, allowing one run and two walks and striking out two. All three of the games in the series were decided in extra innings, with the Mariners winning 7-6 in 12 innings on Friday and the Rangers evening the set with a 3-2 victory in 10 on Saturday. Garver had three hits and four RBI for Seattle on Sunday to lead its 13-hit attack. Evan Carter went 3-for-4 with a double to lead Texas, which had nine hits. It looked like Solano and Garver had won the game for the Mariners in the 10th inning with RBI singles off Texas reliever Luke Jackson to give Seattle a 3-1 lead. But Corey Seager answered for Texas in the bottom of the frame with a ringing two-run home run to left-center field off Carlos Vargas to send the game to the 11th inning. Texas grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Josh Jung's single drove in Carter, who had doubled with one out. The Mariners answered in the sixth as Garver singled with two outs to plate Randy Arozarena, who had singled with one out and advanced to second on a flyout by Dominic Canzone. Luis Castillo started for the Mariners and Jack Leiter was first to the mound for Texas. Both went six innings and neither was involved in the decision while producing near-identical line scores. Castillo allowed one run on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts but endured his seventh straight outing without a win. He has recorded two losses and five no-decisions since his last victory on May 19 over the White Sox in Chicago. Leiter also gave up a run on seven hits without a walk and seven strikeouts. He was trying to produce his first win in June but finished the month with three losses in his five starts. --Field Level Media
