Two fan theories have been put forward to explain the strange circumstances surrounding Borna Barisic, his post-match reaction, Gary Mac’s statement and the press claims he was on the move.

And we must admit both of them have a bit of credibility and may be onto something.

Barisic was seen inconsolable at full time on Sunday, with a ‘goodbye’-style gesture to the fans, plus Gary Mac had failed to deny he was leaving, being only vague about it, before the apparent story broke of an imminent move to Roma.

But a theory or two put forward could make all of these true…

The story goes that Barisic WAS indeed leaving, and that was indeed a goodbye, and Gary Mac knew about it – but that it was a gesture from the player to help the club financially, knowing there was interest in him.

Happy at Ibrox, he offered the club an avenue of revenue by offering to leave, with Roma and others interested, but no offer came in and the club is more than happy to retain his services. It may well be he believed he was leaving, but it wasn’t to be.

The second theory is also similarly intriguing. Barisic has been out of form for a while, and certainly hasn’t been in front of a packed Ibrox this season (Bassey has started all matches bar Malmo at home) in a win, so not only did he manage to start v Celtic but provided the winning assist. For a Ranger who hasn’t experienced a full Ibrox in a win v Celtic ever (that’s right, his first since signing) this was overwhelming to him and he greeted the crowd to savour the moment.

Which one do we believe more? The second one to us seems strong. Borna Barisic has never played at Ibrox in front of a full house and won v Celtic. We know how powerful that moment is, and for a player at Ibrox for 3 years, it’s no surprise it hit him hard.

So why did he ‘say goodbye’? Either because he thought he was going, or because the occasion overcame him.

We’ll probably never know…