South American unlikely to play for Rangers again with hopes of £3m Ibrox profit

South America is a region Rangers have increasingly turned to in recent seasons as they look to bolster a struggling player business model.

The best players in world football have traditionally come from Latin America, with Rangers signing two Brazilians in Jefte and Danilo.

With the Ibrox club heavily linked with a number of Argentine players this summer too, Rangers have also turned their attention to Colombia with the arrival of Oscar Cortes.

But while there are high hopes that these guys will have a tangible impact on the club’s first team and its finances, there is one South American Ranger who is unlikely to ever kick a ball again for the club.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Jose Cifuentes works hard at Rangers

When the Rangers signed Ecuadorian midfielder Jose Cifuentes from LAFC last summer, we were assured it would be a game-changer.

Michael Beale was left uneasy after convincing the 25-year-old to join the Gers ranks after Cifuentes had just played at the World Cup in Qatar with Ecuador.

Having been linked with Manchester City and Newcastle United earlier in his career, Jose Cifuentes had a big profile and it was hoped he would be the midfielder Rangers were asking for.

But there’s one thing the Rangers never really took into account: the weather.

While it’s hard enough adjusting to the near-constant scrutiny of life at Ibrox, swapping the palm trees of Los Angeles for the dull gray of Glasgow is a culture shock in itself.

Cifu said it himself.

“I didn’t see the sun in the six months I was with the Rangers,” Cifuentes said in February. “It was always cold.”

Cifuentes also arrived late in the window and struggled to make an impact on the Rangers team before being transferred to Cruzeiro in Brazil.

This return to South America also did not go as planned and this summer Cifuentes signed a loan-purchase agreement with Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.

Rangers loanee thriving in Greece

It’s fair to say that this was a decision that ultimately benefited Jose Cifuentes in a way that Rangers fans would wish his move to Ibrox would do.

The midfielder has been a revelation in Greece and has put in a series of impressive performances to guide the Greek top performers to the top of the domestic Super League.

There is still a long way to go this season but already Cifuentes’ form will lead some at Rangers to wonder about a potential return.

However, Rangers Review and Chris Jack appear to have dismissed this suggestion in a report on Jose Cifuentes’ time in Europe.

Confirming that Aris has a purchase option on the loan – believed to be worth €5m (£4.2m) – the report states that “in all likelihood, Cifu has kicked his last ball for the Rangers.”

Jack also suggests Cifuentes ‘could well attract the attention of other interested parties’ and claims Rangers paid an initial fee of £1.2 million to sign the midfielder last season.

This is a figure which the journalist claims excludes a “six-figure” agent fee, but if these reports around the option make sense, Rangers could bank around £3m of profit on the player.