Former Rangers chairman Dave King has highlighted the club's current financial strength as he admitted his days of investing in the footballing side are over due to their 'very strong' balance sheet.
The ex-Ibrox chief is set to part with his 20.37 per cent holding in the club as part of a £13 million deal that will see fan group Club 1872 take hold of his shares.
But he is leaving the finances in Govan in a much healthier state than he found them after his boardroom coup in March 2015, though the South African businessman admitted "short term loans" from other investors would be required during the ownership's transition period.
In an interview with the Four Lads had a Dream podcast, King said that significant strides made on and off the pitch had helped the club to rebuild from the financial meltdown that saw them booted out the Scottish top flight in 2012.
And he pointed to the board's decision not to part with Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos despite huge bids reportedly arriving for his services during the summer as evidence that the coffers were full at Ibrox - adding they would likely move towards a player trading-focused model going forward.
He said: “It does require some short-term loans and Douglas (Park) and John (Bennett) have kindly stepped in to fill the role that I was doing previously by advancing that money. But they could have done the alternative and sold Alfredo Morelos.
“They have now got that level of financial flexibility where they can decide whether to trade players or not. I think over a long period of time player trading will be part of the business model and it has to be part of the business model.
“It is nice to know that from season to season, the board is in a position to say ‘we are actually going to bring in two strikers and not sell Alfredo, although we might sell him next year’. That indicates the level of financial stability that the club has gone and is part of the ongoing recovery as we have built up the balance sheet."
King added: “It is partly the impact of the decision to bring in Steven Gerrard, who we have seen not only improve financial metrics in terms of performance in Europe, but also showcase the talent that has boosted the value of the players and allowed them to bring in players of a better quality and higher value.
“I really think that the club, cash flow wise, balance sheet wise, is a very, very, very strong position. Which is another reason why I am absolutely certain that there will be no share issues at 20p and certainly if I was chairing the board, I wouldn’t be issuing shares at 20p again. I think that time is over.”
