Saudi sources claim Philippe Clement has agreed a four-year deal with Rangers, beating their Al-Shabab to the race for the Belgian’s signature, and the contract will be sorted over the next 24-48 hours.
In a curious twist though, the source also alleges that Rangers have put a major protection into the contract with regards mutual termination:
“The Scottish Club’s management placed a condition in the contract stipulating that the contract would not be terminated by one party except by obtaining the full value of the contract.”
Now what does this exactly mean?
It appears that Rangers have learned from the £8M wasted on sacking Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale, by ensuring that the club is financially protected in case of this deal not working out.
Exactly how that applies isn’t 100% clear, but if we were to hazard a guess, it appears to suggest that if Rangers sack Clement in the future, he won’t be getting a grand payout of the full rest of the deal, unlike Gio and Mick.
Of course, preparations for life after Philippe Clement already seems ridiculous given we’ve not even appointed him yet, but this board is more canny than the Wilson Robertson and Park shambles which lost us so much money.
It’s normal to protect ourselves, and while obviously we want the man to succeed, it is important Rangers are safe regardless of the outcome of this partnership.
Four year deal again though – Rangers’ board clearly believes in Clement, and we’ll be honest, we do too.