Tore Andre Flo admits his Rangers price tag was HEAVY but it wasn’t fan pressure that caused that feeling.
The Light Blues shelled out a massive £12million back in 2000 to bring the striker to Glasgow – which remains the Scottish record. And he says he felt it was the only thing that was ever associated with his time at Ibrox. He believed the eight-figure transfer fee was always on his shoulders whether he was in a good or bad period. With that in mind he reckons had he cost £3m – four times less than the fee paid, that he would be considered a great success story.
Despite the pressures Flo enjoyed his time at Rangers but did make it clear he would change TWO things if he could. Speaking on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, he explained: “It was heavy, I have to admit that. I didn’t think about it in that way when I went there, and to be honest, I didn’t feel the pressure that much from the supporters or the club. It was more the media, it was the only thing they wanted to talk about.
“If I scored two goals that was not enough because you cost that much money. It never stopped, that price tag was over my shoulders all the time, in good periods or in bad periods they wouldn’t stop writing about the price tag.
“We came second and you can’t come second if you play for Rangers, but what a club. What a lively city and the atmosphere of the games was unbelievable up there, so it was a great place to play football.
“I think I would have been considered to be a great success if I cost a fourth of what I actually did. The price tag made it a lot more difficult. I wish I could have played there not having that over my shoulders then it would have been a bit different. I think my goal record is okay. It was great fun being at Rangers but two things I would have changed are obviously the price tag, and I wish we’d won the league.”
The Norwegian had some top team-mates during his time in Glasgow but THREE stood out for him. He added: “There were some great players in my time there. Dick Advocaat was the manager and he brought some players from Holland. The player I want to mention is Michael Mols.
“He played for the national team of the Netherlands as well, and what was special about him was the turn. He turned the best way that I’ve ever seen a player do.
“Barry Ferguson was there, he was the captain and was a big player and a big influence. I even played with Claudio Caniggia from Argentina for a little while, he was a cool player but Michael Mols, he just edged it for me because of that brilliant turn he had.”