Former Rangers star Ronald de Boer thinks the support that the Gers and Old Firm rivals have in Scotland and beyond should see the Glasgow giants involved in any future proposals to revamp the Champions League – with the Dutch legend confessed he would have been left upset had Europe’s premier club competiton been left in the dust by the failed Euro Super League.
The legendary former Ajax and Barcelona attacker knows first-hand how well supported Rangers are and de Boer insists they are “very close” to the magnitude of the 12 clubs who tried to breakaway.
With attention now turning to possible changes to the Champions League in the future, de Boer wants Rangers and Celtic involved rather than being left on the sidelines.
“Wherever you go, there are an unbelievable amount of fans from those clubs,” de Boer said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“I’m not talking about the quality of football in Scotland, just the magnitude of the clubs themselves.
“They’re huge. That’s why, on that level, they’re very close to these big teams we’re talking about, I’m 100 per cent sure of that.
“So if there are any changes in the future, they should be involved or considered.”
With a Champions League win under his belt from his time at Ajax, the competition holds a special place for de Boer.
The Dutch giants have won the competition four times and de Boer was left scratching his head at the inclusion of Tottenham ahead of clubs like Ajax.
With some of the Europe’s most succesful clubs left out of the Super League plans, de Boer thinks it was “unfair” to push them aside simply to increase the potential financial gains for the so-called ‘dirty dozen.’
“The Champions League is important to me so I’d have been upset if it would have been diminished because of this Super League,” he continued.
“And it wouldn’t have been the same for the clubs I played for, like Ajax and Rangers.
“Listen, these people aren’t stupid. They knew the risks involved.
“But a club like Ajax have won four Champions Leagues and they would not have been there. Who is making that decision?
“Why was Tottenham there? We know it’s because they’re in the Premier League and in terms of the Asian market.
“It’s the biggest league in the world, we know that. But that’s the only reason Tottenham were there. It was quantity over quality.
“But we have to remember that clubs like Ajax and Rangers are still important.
“There are other big teams in Europe who are able sometimes to challenge those teams.
“But they were being pushed aside and that’s unfair.”
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