Rangers flop Carlos Pena is expected to return to Ibrox after being sacked by Cruz Azul.
Midfielder Carlos Pena is expected to return to Rangers after Cruz Azul manager and former Ibrox boss Pedro Caixinha declared that the powerhouse will not play for the Mexican side again – but could it prove to be a huge Rangers boost?
The 28-year-old was shipped out on a year’s loan to Caixinha’s side in January, after falling down the pecking order at Ibrox despite being one of the Gers’ most expensive transfers in recent years.
The Scottish Sun claims 19-time Mexico international Pena earns a huge £26,000 a week, and cost the Gers £2.2million to sign him from Guadalajara last summer. It is believed Rangers were paying half of his wages during the loan.
But now, Pena is set to return to Ibrox after a number of instances where the midfielder’s discipline came into question, including buying beer immediately after training and urinating in a fountain.
BBC Sport quoted Caixinha as saying that “Carlos [Peña] is not going to continue with us, he has known it directly from me.”
Steven Gerrard is set to take over at Rangers from June 1 and has a big decision on his hands when it comes to the controversial midfielder, but having him at Ibrox this summer could prove to be beneficial to the Gers.
Instead of paying half of his huge wages up until the end of his loan next January, Rangers could now have the option to sell him permanently this summer and rake in a transfer fee as well as wiping all of his pay packet off the wage bill.
That will give Gerrard some much-needed funds to go out and buy new players that the former Liverpool and England captain believes can close the gap between the Light Blues and Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Having Pena back this summer, then, may have a silver lining, if the Gers can find a buyer.
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