The Ibrox side spent heavily during the days of David Murray and agreed a fee with a dangerous striker before the deal collapsed.
Rangers fans are losing faith in current first-choice striker Cyriel Dessers, who performed poorly against St Johnstone on Sunday.
And imagine what the light blue legions could do with a vocalist in his prime. They were once close to signing him for the kind of money they can only dream about now. Rangers were on the verge of signing Spaniard Raul Tamudo during Sir David Murray’s excessive spending days, led by Dick Advocaat.
However, having had their fingers burned when it came to spending money on injury-prone players, such as the late defender Daniel Prodan, the Ibrox club were extremely cautious when it came to signing big cheques. John Hartson notoriously failed a medical before moving across the city to become a Celtic goalscoring hero.
Tamudo, 23, was another player who failed a medical after Rangers paid a £10.5 million release clause. Tamudo later stated that Espanayol dedicated a fans club to the then-Rangers doctor who scuppered the move, Dutchman Dr Gert Jan Goudswaard.
Tamudo went on to become a star at the Barcelona-based club, and he played in Glasgow seven years later when his side lost the UEFA Cup final to Sevilla at Hampden in an all-Spanish affair. He made nearly 400 appearances over 13 years, but his career could have been cut short if he had joined Rangers.
The fan club is dubbed ‘Doctor Gert, Diga 23’ in a weird tribute to the medical guy, with 23 representing Tamudo’s shirt number at Espanyol from 1997 to 2010.
Tamudo was angry with how the move to Scotland went through and originally sought an apology before declaring, when speculation of the deal was rekindled, “I don’t want to go to Rangers and I want to forget about them.”
Rangers signed Tore Andre Flo for £12 million, a Scottish football record. However, the Norwegian failed and moved to Sunderland.
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