His departure will not contribute a single penny to club coffers – but Michael Beale has no doubt Alfredo Morelos ’ Ibrox legacy will be valued by the Rangers faithful for years to come. Time is almost up for the Colombian as his long goodbye to Glasgow enters its final fortnight.
There was a point when Gers chiefs expected to welcome in a 30-fold return on the £800,000 investment they made in the then unheard of 20-year-old Helsinki hitman back in 2017. Bids from China and France have been rebuffed in the years in between while the Light Blues board held out for the payday they’d convinced themselves would surely come.
But those windfall hopes have long since faded, diminishing every day that they’ve scored off dates on the South American’s dwindling contract. The countdown clock is now down to the last dozen days and today he’ll have his final crack at Celtic.
You wouldn’t be best served by recounting Morelos’ troubled run-ins with the neighbours from across the city to tell the full story of his time at Rangers. Europe, on the other hand, has been a far better setting to judge his talents and when he does ultimately walk out the front door on to Edmiston Drive for the final time, he’ll disappear off into the sunset with the club’s European goalscoring record.
But regardless of how his closing clash with the other half of the Old Firm goes, boss Beale is adamant it won’t impact his place in Rangers history that’s long since been secured. The Londoner said: “His legacy is being part of an invincible league winning side and that won’t happen for a long, long time. Or ever again.
“He was a key part of that team and he’s also now the club’s record European goalscorer. We paid £800,000 for an unknown boy from Helsinki and now he’s known in every Rangers household. So he’s a player that we will look back on in time with real fondness.”
There was little warmth on show from the manager last week, with Beale becoming the latest in a long line of Rangers bosses to publicly berate the striker after his half-hearted showing off the bench against Aberdeen. But that disinterested Dons display is not how Beale will remember El Buffalo.
He said: “I will have a lot of fond memories about working with him. Just because you make one comment about one performance doesn’t change that. It is what it is and I’ll be honest, I’ve said a lot worse about him.
“Time will heal a few things around one or two of the players who might move on. Because when you are winning it’s a wonderful club and when you lose it is a tough old club to play for. You’ve got to take both in equal measure. For £800,000 Alfredo has more than paid back Rangers for the outlay.”
The question now is just who will be the next club to take a punt on a player who has been on a year-long downward spiral. Beale just hopes a change of scenery allows the 26-year-old to rediscover the player he once was.
“He’s changed as a player and he’s changed as a man,” he said. “He’s become a dad and a husband and he’s changed.
“I first met him a long time ago now and a lot has happened to him. I loved the aggressive and the robust Alfredo. Then he became a slightly different player, a real link-up player.
“We were very successful in that period and now, he’s an even different player to then, if you like. A lot of his work outside the box maybe isn’t appreciated.
“Like a few of the Rangers players he’s maybe been around a long time. We’ve had a lot of continuity which has helped us win the league, get to a European final and win the Scottish Cup.
“Now is maybe a moment for someone like Alfredo to cut himself free and try something new. It will give energy in his life and give someone else the chance to come in and fill a big void.”
Beale is also a man in need of perking up. On the back of three straight Old Firm losses, Beale admits he can’t wait to slam the book shut this season and start writing a new narrative next year.
“Yeah, you’re not wrong,” he said with a weary smile. “Obviously that’s accelerated in the last two weeks when we had disappointment.
“Sometimes the disappointment is because we didn’t perform well or you don’t think the effort or the game plan is right. What I have is different – it’s frustration. We’ve had the opportunities to change our fate and we haven’t taken them. Those are all the frustrations that we have to take inside.
“We are a club at the moment where there is a little bit of change both in the playing staff and structurally. I have a better first-hand experience of it than anyone and I see a club that is vibrant and moving in the right direction. The team on the pitch now has to back all that good work up.”
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