Klos repays
part of fee
to sign on
at Rangers
Rangers chairman David Murray completed the signing of the club's new German goalkeeper on Christmas Eve then announced that Stefan Klos had paid part of the transfer fee out of his own pocket.
Initially, explained Murray, Klos had been ready to join the Ibrox side under freedom of contract but his club, Borussia Dortmund, contested his right to move for nothing.
The Bundesliga club blocked that proposed deal in the
German courts last summer and Rangers signed French internationalist Lionel Charbonnier instead.
Now, Charbonnier is a long- term injury worry and Borussia changed their stance and decided they would sell Klos - only recently called up to the German international squad - for a fee of around #700,000.
Said Murray: ''This has been the longest-running transfer deal in the 10 years I have been chairman of Rangers.
''It started off 15 months ago when we believed that Stefan was to be a free agent. Then all that changed and we have had to wait for him.
''Now, he has arrived and, in coming here, he has paid part of that transfer fee himself.
''I think it emphasises just how keen he was to join Rangers and I think it demonstrates the trust there is between us.
''Nothing was signed, you know. We shook hands on this deal before all the delays surfaced and that handshake was enough for Stefan and enough for myself.''
Klos added: ''This is the club I wanted to join after meeting the chairman.
''I don't know if any other clubs came for me - they might have talked to my agent - but it would have made no difference.
''After that first meeting, I knew where I wanted to play.
''I spent 10 years with Borussia and they were good years but now they are starting to build a new team and I thought it was the right time for me to move on.
''Also, I am coming to Rangers just as they are starting a new era, so this is perfect for me.''
Klos seemed to accept that he would have to fight for his place against the Finnish internationalist Antti Niemi and Charbonnier, too, when he eventually regains full fitness.
However, he insisted that this was normal when you play for a major club.
''I know that Rangers are a big club and, so, this is normal,'' he said, shrugging his shoulders. ''I will just have to play well.
''Since Rangers defeated Bayer Leverkusen this season, people in Germany have realised how good a team there is here.
''As for my position with Germany, I will take my chances. It is important, first, to help Rangers achieve their ambitions and, again, if I am good enough then I shall be with the national squad.
''I am still only 27 years old, so I have a long future as a goalkeeper.''
Murray remarked pointedly: ''Players will continue to come and go here at Ibrox because the coach has told me his intentions and I am letting him get on with things.
''We are not a public company so we can decide between us what we shall spend.
''There is a committee of two, Dick and myself, and no-one else is involved in the signing strategy.
''Dick identified Stefan as a player he wanted and when you remember he has played 250 games in the Bundesliga, as well as dozens of times in Europe, then you can see we have bought real quality.''
Advocaat refused to say whether Klos would become his immediate first choice, stressing his philosophy once more that ''22 or 24 players are needed for the team at Rangers.''
He said: ''We need this kind of squad. If a player is not happy with that then, of course, he can look for another club.
''We only want happy players here. I think we are able to keep them happy.''
Niemi, who has been Charbonnier's replacement since the Frenchman's cruciate ligament damage, has indicated that he would be unhappy to be replaced.
However, he has also said he knows that he must fight for his place and we shall have to wait to see how he eventually reacts to the German's arrival.
q Klos ready for debut - P3
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