Paraag Marathe has dropped hint on Rangers financial muscle already as 49ers takeover could fulfil long-term vision

Rangers could soon be bankrolled by the mega-money behind the San Francisco 49ers – and Ibrox diehards may already know the template that could influence the club's spending power.

Record Sport revealed in an blockbuster exclusive that Paraag Marathe and the 49ers are behind a surprise move to takeover the crisis-hit Ibrox side after a US-based consortium held secret discussions stretching beyond the turn of the year. Those talks are now understood to have reached an advanced stage and could be completed over the new few weeks after the SFA cleared the path for the dual ownership plan. That would involve Leeds United – and could offer a major clue on how Rangers will operate in the market under 49ers Enterprises.

.After taking over at United in the summer of 2023, Paarag Marathe made it clear that 49ers Enterprises wouldn't be throwing massive transfer sums at the problems at Elland Road. While admitting cash would be available in 2023 - following the Yorkshire outfit's relegation from the Premier League - a "creative" approach was put on the table.

He said: “The best chairmen and owners are the ones who don’t have to talk too much, are in the background, give support when needed, expertise when needed and obviously investment when needed. The truth is we want to do this not just because we’re doing this balancing act and maintain good finances.

"But also want to be aggressive, we want to get straight back up as soon as we can, we want to do what it takes because hopefully the Championship is just a speed bump in our way to a much longer path that we’re going on. So, we want to be aggressive as we can be which is probably going to require us being as creative as we can be as well.”

Since then, the club have shaken up