Genk have rubbished Gheorghe Hagi's claim his son Ianis was wasted at the club.
The playmaker moved to Rangers on-loan in January having struggled for regular minutes with the Belgians.
Romanian icon Hagi was adamant son simply had to leave because he barely played and voiced his delight after a deal was agreed with Steven Gerrard's side.
But Genk technical director Dimitri De Conde defended his side's treatment of Hagi junior.
He said: "It is true that Ianis Hagi did not immediately fulfill the creative role we wanted from him.
"Of course we wanted it to be different and we want to stress it was not the fault of the player alone because he has a certain charisma about him.
"But I think he had a hard time with us because of the status of who his father is and the expectation.
"He struggled with us and sometimes had to settle for a place in the stand rather than the pitch.
"But there was not enough sporting evidence that he deserved more minutes with us.
"Sometimes you just have to be honest and admit it's better to send someone like Ianis out on loan, out of respect for him.
"Hopefully, he will get more minutes in Scotland."
Hagi could make his first Premiership start for Rangers on Wednesday night as they host Hibs at Ibrox.
He was used only as a late substitute during the weekend draw with Aberdeen.
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