Tycoon Mike McDonald quits Charles Green's takeover team over SFA transfer ban

[ian1964 10,474]

McDonald, left, worked with Green, right, at Sheffield United in the late 1990s

 

MANCHESTER businessman Mike McDonald is to pull out of Charles Greenâ??s Rangers takeover because a ban on transfers has scuppered his plans to make millions onAlly McCoistâ??s summer signing targets.

 

McDonald last night confirmed he will not now help fund the buyout unless Green can somehow overturn the SFAâ??s 12-month embargo.

 

McDonald insisted his decision to walk away will not damage his friend Greenâ??s chances of completing a proposed £8.5million purchase of the Ibrox club, as he had never agreed to help bankroll the initial bid.

 

But the 70-year-old confirmed he was willing to plough some of his own fortune into a transfer fighting fund which would have seen him then claim â??part ownershipâ?? on any new signing secured with his cash.

 

He said: â??Charles is setting up a consortium who will run the club. I was never going to be a part of that because Iâ??m retired now.

 

â??My main interest was investing in new players but last Wednesday we got the news the embargo is standing so obviously that has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works from my perspective. Thatâ??s not to say when itâ??s lifted in a yearâ??s time or whatever, Iâ??ll not look at it again. I probably will.

 

â??But right now Charles says he doesnâ??t need me. Itâ??s a bit sad really because it would have been great to be involved in getting a side out there and challenging for Europe where the big play is. Obviously thatâ??s going to be a bit of a slog now but Iâ??m sure Charles will make a success of it.â?

 

Former Sheffield United chairman McDonald, who employed Green as the clubâ??s chief executive in the 90s, explained the pairâ??s plan would have seen money â??loanedâ? to the club to help finance McCoistâ??s squad improvements.

 

He would then have been entitled to a personal cut of any future transfer fees if those players were sold on at a profit.

 

The money-making scheme was dashed last week when the SFA upheld its original decision to blackball Rangers from buying new players until summer 2013.

 

But McDonaldâ??s admission is likely to alarm many of the clubâ??s already anxious supporters following the trauma inflicted upon them by Craig Whyte.

 

Even McDonald admits to having doubts that such a scheme could be successfully implemented at Ibrox.

 

He said: â??I was going to be more involved on the playing side than anything else. It could have worked in different ways, depending on how much finance there was. If the club wanted money for players we would have been there. These part-ownership schemes happen a lot now around the world. People invest in potential.

 

â??Mainly, Iâ??ve been involved in doing it with lower clubs, not the size of Rangers. But when you have small clubs that are struggling for money, you help them look at young players coming through â?? 17- or 18-year-olds.

 

â??You put the money in and when those kids go to higher clubs there is some profit. But at a club the size of Rangers Iâ??m not sure how it would work so itâ??s probably a good thing (that the plans have changed).The way I understand it, Charles has the funding in place to run the club without having to look for loans so they should be okay.â?

 

English agent Paul Stretford had also been linked to the McDonald-Green venture but it remains to be seen if the high profile wheeler-dealer will have a part to play now the SFA embargo has stuck.

 

But Green continues to pull his Sevco consortium together from all corners of the globe. The groupâ??s financial adviser has been revealed as Imran Ahmad, who recently moved to English investment banking operation Zeus Capital.

 

Ahmad founded the London firm Allenby Capital Limited in 2009. It has been listed as an adviser and broker in several announcements by Singapore-based mining investment firm Nova Resources limited, of which Green is chairman.

 

A Malaysian hotelier who Green refers to as Jude Allen but is also known as Javed Abdullah, has been confirmed as one of the chief investors.

 

Green has also named Middle Eastern lawyer Mazen Houssami as another in his 20-strong list of potential money men. More backers are expected to be announced soon, with a Far Eastern party set to go public, possibly today.

 

But McDonald said: â??He seems to have people in place who are nearer to Scotland to Rangers than I would have been. Iâ??m based in Belgium so Iâ??m miles away. Charles has all his ducks in a line and Iâ??m not interfering with it.

 

â??The people he needs are people who will give him money and be good for the club. Heâ??s getting lots of interest from Glasgow people and Rangers supporters. They should be his first port of call. Ironically he now has quite a lot of people and at some stage heâ??s going to have to thin it out because too many cooks spoil the broth.

 

â??Thatâ??s why we were prepared to sit back and allow the White Knights or the Red Knights or whatever they were called to get on with it. When they didnâ??t deliver we came in. Itâ??s the same now with these investments.

 

â??Itâ??s still a great opportunity to invest in because the club can really only go one way from now. I think Charles is going to sort it out and be very successful. Heâ??s the right man for the job.â?

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/05/22/rangers-in-crisis-tycoon-mike-mcdonald-quits-charles-green-s-takeover-team-over-sfa-transfer-ban-86908-23868604/

[Bears 0]

CG has said he didn't need me”

 

The end

[GovanAllan 0]

From what I read he was never actually in so no loss.

 

He was going to make a profit off the sell on value, he's obviously not seen our record of buying and selling for a profit only one I can think of is Jela.

Edited May 22, 2012 by GovanAllan

[ian1964 10,474]

This highlights how wrong this transfer embargo is,ok McDonald wasn't/isn't part of the consortium anyway so it's just more pish from the rHags,however it could put off potential investors and I hope Rangers fight this crazy decision,it has gone a bit quiet on this appeal.

[der Berliner 3,310]

Am I right in assuming that we will appeal against the embargo?

[GovanAllan 0]

Am I right in assuming that we will appeal against the embargo?

 

I take it you would need some new arguement for an appeal do we have one?

[der Berliner 3,310]

I take it you would need some new arguement for an appeal do we have one?

 

Possibly worded incorrectly. It will not be an appeal, but the ruling as such challenged as it is against business/European law et al, i.e. impairing competition et al, having no precedence and may well be out of reach for the SFA to impose anyway? At least something to this line of thought.

 

On a sidenote, with all the gloating from certain sections within the SPL going on ... unless I am mistaken, if we sue the SFA in a civil court, UEFA would have to suspend all Scottish clubs from any of their upcoming or running competitions (according to their own rules). Ouch.

Edited May 22, 2012 by der Berliner

[Bluedell 5,366]

Am I right in assuming that we will appeal against the embargo?

 

The club are waiting for the written findings from the panel before deciding their next steps. I believe that further action will be taken by the club, but not sure what that will be.

[Bluedell 5,366]

From what I read he was never actually in so no loss.

 

That's the bottom line. He may not have got in even if he had wanted to anyway.

[gisabeer 409]

he was a profiteer. not what we need in the short term.