• Scottish football

Green: Scottish football is a mess

ESPN staff
October 29, 2012
Charles Green: 'I don't forgive and forget' © PA Photos
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Rangers chief executive Charles Green has claimed he would rather quit the club than return to the Scottish Premier League.

In an interview with talkSPORT, Green has underlined his belief that Scottish football is "a mess" in drastic need of restructuring and claimed Scottish Football Association chiefs already have plans underway to revamp the domestic game.

Green was part of the Sevco consortium which took over the Glasgow giants this summer and is overseeing the rebuilding of the club following their relegation down to the fourth tier of Scottish football.

He believes that the way the club's financial crisis was handled has made it impossible for Rangers to return to the Scottish Premier League under his charge.

He said: "The chief executive of the SFA, Stewart Regan, has said there will have to be some restructuring in Scottish football. It's no secret the SPL have been working on a plan and I understand the Football League have got their vision for change in Scottish football. It has to change because it's in a mess.

"It's really difficult for me to take seriously the SPL re-structure. They threw us out of the league and are now pursuing title stripping, and for us to sit down and think that after all that has come to fruition that I will say 'OK, everything's forgotten', you're in cloud cuckoo land. I don't forgive and forget.

"While I'm chief executive, Rangers will not play in the Scottish Premier League. [If that situation arose], I would go out to the fans, as we did earlier in the year, when they were consulted as to what division they wanted to play in. They wanted to play in the Third Division and we as investors listened to them and were happy to do that.

"And we would go back to them again. But my position wouldn't have changed. If they wanted to go back into the SPL, then fine. But I won't be chief executive."

Adding to his assertion that Scottish football is in need of restructuring, Green claimed that a European League will be in place within the next five to ten years.

"I believe there will be major restructuring," he added. "I'm convinced there will be a European League, maybe not in the next year or two, but in the next five or ten years.

"If you look at the valuations, Manchester United are valued on the New York Stock Market at £1.2 billion. Everton are up for sale at around £300-400 million. So as great as these clubs are, how can they be valued at those amounts and Rangers at only £30 million? It's inconceivable that those values will remain.

"I got into trouble recently for saying that Aston Villa, and a number of other clubs, make money because they are IN the Premier League, but they are not the drivers of that wealth and value.

"The reality is fans want to see the top teams play each other. They want to see Bayern Munich play Barcelona, or Real Madrid play Manchester United, and it's those games that will drive the future of football."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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