He was told he wasn’t wanted. Bumped out on loan by Michael Beale in summer 2023 to make way for the likes of Sam Lammers.
Then left out in the cold by Philippe Clement into the bargain after Beale’s big rebuild collapsed into a pile of dust. Then, as if it was not quite insulting enough already, he was publicly humiliated when the Belgian boss went on record as saying he would never be good enough to hold down a regular place in a Rangers shirt. But, throughout it all, Ianis Hagi refused to give up on the dream he’s had since growing up as the son of Romania’s greatest ever player.
How fitting it was then that superstar dad Gheorghe was in the posh seats at Ibrox on Thursday as his boy capped a stunning, improbable Rangers reincarnation with the opening goal in a 3-0 rout of rivals Celtic. The hugely talented playmaker grinned afterwards: “It’s definitely special. It just shows – and not just in my case but just in general, for football players around the world, young kids coming out from academies – football is not always just all fun.
“It won’t always be perfect. It’s part of a player’s career and as long as they respect football – they love what they do and they train 100 per cent no matter the situation – things will sort themselves out, somehow or other. I’m an example of that recently – but I’ve been through tough situations before.
“Even though I’m still only 26, it’s probably my 10th or 11th season at a senior level. I’ve been captain of the team when I was 16 or 17 and I’m one of the captains of the national team.
“So I’ve been through a lot and thankfully I’m mature enough to understand certain situations in football and how the business part of it works.
“So it’s just purely about people understanding
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