If you are right into your Scottish football you may have known about a young lad Jack Harper who joined the Real Madrid ranks as a youth player back in the day.
Born in Malaga to ex-pats Rangers fans, harper grew up in Spain – well away from the fish bowl of Glasgow. He was picked up by the Spanish giants and joined their youth academy. However, Harper would not be able to make the breakthrough and would eventually move on.
Moving to Brighton’s youth system – the player didn’t make a big impact and moved back to Spain. Harper, now 23, would find himself signed by Getafe this year but loaned out to second tier side Alcorcón.
“People in Spain don’t know how important both teams in Glasgow are.” He told RecordSport.
“Both Celtic and Rangers are mythical clubs – 60,000 fans go to the games.
“My parents are Rangers fans, I am a little more neutral. I like to watch the derbies for the passion and intensity but I do not choose a side.
“I follow the league and more now Rangers have again become a strong team.
“They had problems, went down to the fourth tier and Celtic won eight leagues in a row. Now with Steven Gerrard, everything is going better.
“The league is becoming more powerful. I don’t think about it now. I have 12 years left in my career and anything can happen.
“In general the Scottish Premiership is beautiful, it has mythical teams.”
It’s clear Harper is trying to forge his career in Spain and there’s nothing to suggest either Glasgow club would be interested in him but a Scot abroad is going to be asked questions like that.
He’s not pushing for a move to Scotland nor is anyone looking to bring him in. You never know – if he makes an impact in the future then it could be something worth considering down the line. We wish the lad all the best and hope is parents aren’t too downtrodden after nearly twenty years of mostly Celtic dominance.
Rangers are dead.