£3.9m d

own the drain: Rangers were bled dry for 84 weeks by “disastrous” Caixinha deal – opinion

£3.9m down the drain: Rangers were bled dry for 84 weeks by “disastrous” Caixinha deal – opinion

Glasgow Rangers have a good opportunity of adding the Premiership and Scottish Cup titles to their League Cup victory earlier this season.

Philippe Clement has changed the Ibrox club from also-rans to league leaders in just four months, orchestrating an eight-point swing at the top of the table.

Not only that, but the performances have been fantastic, with the Gers creating numerous opportunities during games but lacking a truly out-and-out striker to convert them.

Dare I say it, but Rangers appear to be gaining momentum in their pursuit of the league crown, and if Clement can keep up these performances in the coming weeks, the next few months might be quite remarkable.

His transfer savvy helped the Light Blues sign Fabio Silva, Oscar Cortes, and Mohamed Diomande last month, and all three appear to be capable of making significant contributions in the coming months.

Could this be the start of Rangers reestablishing their supremacy in Scottish football? Early indications suggest that it could, demonstrating how far the team has progressed since 2016.

 

Rangers spent money on numerous signings.

Before employing Steven Gerrard in May 2018, the Gers were managed by Mark Warburton, Graham Murty, and Pedro Caixinha, the latter of whom may have set the club back several years.

Rangers’ first season back in the top division, 2016/17, was a disaster as they went through three managers, with Caixinha leading the club into the summer transfer window of 2017.

With a third-place finish behind them, trailing Celtic by an incredible 39 points, it was evident that the squad needed to be overhauled.

The Portuguese manager was certainly busy that summer, recruiting 11 players for the Gers while selling seven first-team players who plainly did not fit into his plans.

Money was also spent, something the club did not have much of. Eduardo Herrera cost £1.5 million, and his compatriot Carlos Pena cost £2.2 million, with Caixinha splurging the cash to get the Mexican to Ibrox

Given that their funds were still strained, particularly following the European humiliation to Progres Niederkorn in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, these were extravagant sums to spend.

Pedro Caixinha’s signings for Rangers	Club joined from
Carlos Pena	Chivas
Eduardo Herrera	UNAM Pumas
Graham Dorrans	Norwich City
Fabio Cardoso	Vitoria Setubul
Ryan Jack	Aberdeen
Alfredo Morelos	HJK Helsinki
Daniel Candeias	Benfica
Bruno Alves	Cagliari
Aaron Nemane	Man City (loan)
Dalcio	Benfica (loan)
Declan John	Cardiff City (loan)
Via Transfermarkt

Herrera was a poor signing, but Pena was even worse, and £2.2 million was clearly spent on someone who failed to light up Ibrox with his performances.
What Carlos Pena earned at Rangers

Along with the exorbitant transfer price paid to secure his contract, the Light Blues were also paying Pena £26k each week, which was a staggering sum for someone who struggled to hit the ground running.

The offensive midfielder did have some past pedigree, having registered 62 goal contributions – 52 goals and ten assists – across 191 games for Club Leon during his time in Mexico, and Caixinha expected him to reproduce that form after joining Rangers.

Pena appeared for the club on 14 times, scoring five goals, including a brace against St Johnstone, but he missed a few games due to injury and started only six Premiership matches.

It was soon clear that Pena would not stay at the club, and in January 2018, three months after Caixinha was fired, he went to Mexico to join Cruz Azul on loan.

Coincidentally, Caixinha was his new manager, having taken the post after a temporary hiatus from football, and the move saw the Gers pay half of his £26k-per-week salary, demonstrating how bad the business transaction was.

Carlos Pena’s total cost with the Rangers

He only played 13 games for Cruz Azul before his loan was revoked due to alcohol-related concerns, but the midfielder returned to Nexaca on a temporary basis after spending time in rehab.

Surprisingly, this loan contract was also cut short, although Rangers continued to pay his full salary during his time away from Glasgow, and the entire transaction constituted a significant loss for the Ibrox club.

Indeed, combining the £2.2 million transfer fee with his £1.7 million salaries earned during his ill-fated 84-week tenure in Scotland, Pena cost the club a total of £3.9 million.

A genuinely outrageous sum, and he eventually had his contract terminated in February 2019 after failing to play a single game under Gerrard, and the former Liverpool captain highlighted the termination in a press conference, adding

“The board made this choice over me. Certain events take place at a club that are beyond the control of the manager. Dave King and the board have made their choice, which I respect, and we will go on.

In the 2022 Rangers Review, journalist Derek Clark stated that “ultimately, this was a disastrous transfer in what was an equally disastrous spell for the club” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport justified the reasons why Rangers terminated Pena’s contract earlier, and it appeared that the whole saga had been resolved.

While some transfer business has been terrible since Pena’s departure, it appears that the Gers now have a manager who understands the transfer market, which will result in fewer disastrous signings.

Of course, there will always be one or more players who arrive at the club and fail to meet expectations, but Pena had a rising reputation and definitely looked the part, particularly given his past numbers in Mexico.

It quickly proved to be a tremendous waste of money, and while the Gers are now in a much better financial position, Clement cannot afford to waste money on players who will not stand up and be counted as he strives for more success with the club.

With shrewd additions in the January window, the Rangers are in a much better position this year than they were in 2017.

With shrewd additions in the January window, the Rangers are in a much better position this year than they were in 2017.

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