Florida based property tycoon Graham Duffy has said he doesn’t want to gain personally from a proposed supporter takeover at Ibrox – and could deliver a detailed bid before Christmas. The Rangers Supporters Trust revealed they have been in talks with Duffy for months and say his model for fan ownership is the best move for the financially troubled club.
Duffy revealed details of his plan to make Rangers a supporter-owned club, like Barcelona and Hamburg, to the Scottish News of the World. The property developer insisted he did not want to run the club personally and blamed the side’s recent poor performances on backroom turmoil.
"I don't want to be a shareholder or director. Nothing,” he said.
“The most important thing is to look after the club's best interests. I think the team's performance just now is a direct impact of what's going on upstairs."
Sir David Murray had made derisory comments about proposed bids last week and claimed he had received no offers from the club. The majority shareholder said: ”When the speculation got mischievous was when people started talking about mysterious Florida millionaires. It was unbelievable." Duffy refused to blame Murray for the situation at Ibrox but said the club’s fortunes should not be tied to one person’s finances.
"For the past 20-odd years they've been run as a subsidiary of a multi-national company. Those days are gone,” he said.
"Rangers should not be run by another company and shouldn't be run by an individual. It's too much of a risk.
"I'm not saying Mr Murray has done anything wrong. Certain things happen and suddenly things begin to unravel and become very complicated."
Duffy’s plan involves fans paying annual subscriptions and 45,000 supporters pledging £1000 each to the club. The businessman said the deal would represent good value and that there had been an over-reaction to the club’s debt.
"Rangers have £122m of assets and a £30m overdraft,” he added.
“Does that mean it's a bad business? No. I don't think they are in financial trouble - very far from it. Panic buttons have been pressed for some odd reason."
