Ally McCoist is a Rangers legend – but as he now tells FFT, he could have moved south of the border in his prime…
(Image credit: Getty)
Rangers legend Ally McCoist has told FourFourTwo that he could well have moved to the Premier League during his peak – but that he'd never have left his beloved Gers.
McCoist enjoyed 15 glorious years at Ibrox, scoring 350 goals and was a target for plenty of sides during that time. As the much-celebrated co-commentator now tells FFT, however, he could have moved to Germany or south of the border during his prolific prime in Scotland.
"I was just happy playing for the team I had always supported," McCoist told FFT. "We were very successful, too. Yes, there was some interest in me and I probably could’ve moved, but I didn’t want to.
"I wouldn’t have swapped anything for winning trophies at Rangers. I had a tempting offer from Köln in Germany, and then late on there was also an offer from Everton, but I didn’t give them too much thought. Rangers were my team."
Despite this incredible success that Rangers had domestically, however, the Gers never did win a European trophy with McCoist in the side. In 1993, the club were agonisingly close to the first-ever final of the Champions League – but missed out to Marseille.
Looking back on that time in his career, McCoist now says that he feels cheated by that entire episode, in which Marseille were later found to have bribed opponents in Ligue 1 to throw the league game before their big night in Europe and subsequently banned from retaining their European crown.
(Image credit: Getty)
"We drew 2-2 with Marseille at Ibrox and 1-1 with them in France: If we’d scored another goal in either of those games, we would have been in the competition’s first-ever final," McCoist remembers.
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"Back then there were no quarter- or semi-finals, but two groups of four teams, with the winner of each qualifying for the final. Marseille finished top with nine points and we were second with eight, so one more goal in either of the games against them would’ve been enough.
"It would have been Milan in the final. You’d better believe that we were good enough to win it – Marseille beat them. Of course, you remember the problems with Marseille and Bernard Tapie, their owner. We really felt cheated by the situation.
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Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
