Scottish Premiership challengers Rangers held talks with Juventus legend Claudio Marchisio – who is a big fan of Steven Gerrard.
Rangers’ hopes of signing Claudio Marchisio are officially over.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the Juventus legend has announced that his playing career has come to an end after 15 years at the very top level of the European game.
When the reports first emerged that Marchisio could end his career at Ibrox, playing against the likes of Hamilton and Livingston in the Scottish Premiership, it was easy to scoff and disregard this as idle gossip.
According to RMC, Rangers were in talks about signing the 33-year-old in September.
But it would be foolish to discount the ‘Gerrard factor’. Marchisio is a huge fan of the Rangers manager, having watched on in awe as he dragged Liverpool from the brink of turmoil to the edge of glory on countless occasions.
When Gerrard announced his own retirement in 2016, Marchisio took to Facebook to bid an emotional farewell.
Though as the days went by, the dream faded and now the 33-year-old has ended any lingering hope that Gerrard might have had of luring him to Glasgow. But why has Marchisio decided to end things now?
Well, after lifting 15 trophies during a remarkable career at Juventus, Marchisio has admitted that he simply ‘wasn’t fulfilling my promise anymore’. Injuries have taken their toll, ruining an ill-fated spell at Zenit St Petersburg, and he obviously felt that it wouldn’t be right to join a proud old club like Rangers when he couldn’t contribute like he used to.
Marchisio can bow out with his head held high.
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