New Rangers signing Nikola Katic has revealed he had the opportunity to sign for Russian club Spartak Moscow but decided to join the Gers instead as they are a bigger club.
The 21-year-old Croatian under-21 international stated that he felt that Rangers were a bigger club than the Russian outfit who regularly feature in Europe’s elite competitions, and that Scottish football is better.
Katic also insisted that money was not a major factor in the deal due to his desire to play football.
As quoted in The Herald, the young defender said: “It’s a big pleasure to be part of such a big club. I think the style of football is a big plus for me.
“The size of the club and Steven Gerrard as a coach were the main factors.
“For me Rangers are a far bigger club than Spartak, for sure.
“I didn’t speak with Spartak – just my agent. I didn’t speak with anyone other than the people at Rangers when I arrived in Glasgow.
“For me, Rangers are bigger than Spartak because of all the history and in my opinion Scottish football is better than in Russia and money wasn’t important – I just want to play.
“The Steven Gerrard factor was very important because he was a really great player and knows everything about football and everyone said to me ‘It’s Steven Gerrard, you need to go because you will learn and make good steps’.”
OPINION:
These are exactly the kind of words that will make Katic an immediate hit amongst Rangers’ supporters. To hear that the centre-back was not mainly motivated by money will be hugely important to a club like the Glasgow outfit given their recent cash flow issues. Katic’s arrival is another example of the huge influence new manager Steven Gerrard is having north of the border. The Liverpool legend has already made several acquisitions to his squad ahead of the new campaign – the defender being one of the biggest of those arrivals – many of whom have credited Gerrard as their reason for heading to the Scottish Premiership. And the Reds hero is set on adding a few more to the fold. According to a report in The Scottish Sun, the Gers boss is set on making a total on nine signings by the time the club commences their Europa League adventure on July 12 with Manchester City winger Brandon Barker a target, as well as Roma forward Umar Sadiq.