Nicolas Raskin admits Michael Beale sold him on a move to Ibrox - and revealed Rangers feels like the BIG BROTHER of Standard Liege. The Belgian became the second January transfer window arrival in Govan with the midfielder following Todd Cantwell.
The 21-year-old can’t wait to get started and admitted playing in front of an empty Ibrox in the Europa League for his former club during the height of Covid-19 has given him a thirst to see it packed to the rafters. Raskin had a host of top European clubs chasing him including Stuttgart, Mallorca. Marseille, Napoli, Club Brugge and Galatasaray.
But he was sold on a move to Govan by Beale and told Rangers TV: “I was playing at a club in Belgium that was almost the little brother of this club. When the manager was talking to me and explaining everything, I said to him that it looked like the big brother of the club I was at.
“We spoke about my position in the squad. The manager convinced me to come because I had a few other offers, but it was good how the manager spoke to me. I wanted to come directly after he spoke to me. I wanted to come here because I feel that the manager can improve me. It’s a big club so you can always improve a lot.
“I needed to move from Belgium to grow. It’s good for me because my team in Belgium, we are very famous and the fans are good. I love to play with the pressure and the standards are high, which is what I need to improve myself.
“In my young career I have played once in the Europa League. It was crazy, and I remember we played against Rangers. I was sad because it was COVID-19 and when we came here there wasn’t fans in the stadium.
"I knew the fans here were incredible. I was so happy when we drew Rangers, but after that I had to say OK. I remember Ibrox as a very big stadium and Rangers were a very good team, so now I’m happy to be part of this team. I’m looking forward to playing at this level.
“I know how European games go and you have to play every three days. I’m looking forward to something new because I want to play in the Champions League. I’ve only played in the Europa League for one year, and I now want to play in Europe every season and fight for trophies every year. That’s why I came here.
“I feel really excited about being here. I feel very proud also to join this big club and I look forward to playing at Ibrox. When my lawyer told me this I was very excited because I was watching a game in Europe when Rangers got to the final so I knew it was a very big club. In Belgium we are looking a lot at the big (Old Firm) derby so I was very excited."
READ NEXT
