I was the next Alfredo Morelos but flopped at Rangers - now I'm scoring goals for fun in China

Former Rangers flop Juan Alegria looks to have revived his career, becoming the star striker of a club who once spent £37m on a Brazilian international midfielder.

The Colombian forward was brought to Ibrox by Steven Gerrard in 2021, joining from FC Honka in the Finnish top-flight, but failed to make an impact in Scottish football. The 22-year-old has bagged 18 goals in 26 appearances for Guangzhou FC this season, having moved to the Far East from Jaguares in his home country.

Guangzhou, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande, were once one of the Chinese Super League’s top spending clubs, and were managed by three different World Cup winners in Marcello Lippi, Fabio Cannavaro and Luiz Felipe Scolari. Now though, it’s a different story. The team were relegated from the top-flight in 2021 after financial difficulties, having splashed the cash on stars like Paulinho, Jackson Martinez and Robinho.

The South China side sit third in Chinese League One, with Alegria bagging the second-most goals in the division. On arrival in Scotland, the Colombian was likened to his countryman and then-Ibrox star Alfredo Morelos, who also followed the route from Finland to Govan.

After Gerrard’s departure, however, Alegria was farmed out on loan moves to Partick Thistle and Falkirk. He would fail to score in his time at Firhill, and despite scoring six goals in 16 games for the Bairns, the Colombian was sent back to Honka at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail in 2023, Alegria said: “When Rangers tried to sign me I had high expectations. When you look at the situation from inside it is very tough and something I never knew about. I never felt as if Rangers had a plan for Juan and that cost time. I learned from the