Rangers Duo Gregg Wylde And Mervan Celik Become First Players To Be Made Redundant

Wylde And Celik First Rangers Players Released

Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik have become the first players to leave Rangers after the club was placed into administration.

The duo proposed to defer their wages, but that was rejected by the administrators as they continue to make cuts at the Ibrox club. Both have had their offers for voluntary redundancy accepted with no pay-off.

The financial advisory service, Duff & Phelps, are meeting the squad at their Murray Park training ground in a bid to agree on other wage cuts.

Monthly savings of £1m have been targeted by the administrators, and the redundancy figure could rise above 11 first-team squad members.

Wylde told BBC Scotland today: "I volunteered to walk with no redundancy package today to help the other people in the club who have families, like the kitchen staff.

"I offered to walk away yesterday and the club told me today that they would accept that offer."

Twenty-year-old Wylde admitted that he had no offers from other clubs, while 21-year-old Swede Celik only arrived in January on a three-and-a-half-year deal from GAIS Gothenburg.

Rangers players rejected Duff & Phelps' month-long proposal for structured cuts, which entailed the highest earners getting hit by a 75 per cent wage cut, middle-earners a 50 per cent drop and other players with a 25 per cent fringe.

The club is looking for a buyer before the end of the month since, if they fail to meet the 31 March deadline, they will be forbidden from competing in Europe next season.

But with the transfer window closed to British clubs, the list of leagues to sell players to is severely limited, although discussions are understood to be ongoing with several teams.

Dunfermline Athletic have finally been paid £83,000 owed for ticket sales, while owner Craig Whyte is being pursued for £9m he contractually promised when he took over in May 2011.

Already lawyers acting for the administrators have gained a court order to seize a preliminary £3.6m from Whyte's solicitors Collyer Bristow.

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