Former Aston Villa striker Ross McCormack revealed that he came close to returning to Scotland to join Rangers before his move to Australia’s A-League. McCormack, who had signed for Aston Villa during the club’s major spending spree under Dr. Tony Xia in 2016, recounted how his move to Rangers was lined up when Steven Gerrard took over as manager. However, Rangers stopped answering his agent’s calls, and the move fell through.
Ross McCormack said “The only other move at that period of time was I was going to go to Rangers on a season-long loan with Steven Gerrard, and then the day I was meant to go and do the medical and sign, they just stopped answering the phone to my agent. I don’t know [why]. I’ve got an idea, but I’ll probably keep it to myself. I was literally going into Aston Villa to train with the under-16s or whatever it was and then up to Glasgow to do a medical, but then they didn’t answer the phone.”
Reflecting on his time under Roberto Di Matteo, McCormack added:
Ross McCormack said “He was one of those, I’ve got nothing good or bad to say about him. We just didn’t really have a connection. He was probably leaning towards an attacking manager. He was there for eight or nine games, and then he was gone.”
Despite his turbulent time at Villa, McCormack spoke highly of the club’s facilities:
Ross McCormack said “It’s pristine, see inside of it? When you’re in the lounges, and even in the tunnel. You feel like it must get a makeover every three weeks, it’s that pristine.”
These reflections add insight into McCormack’s time at Aston Villa and the transfer that never materialized.
