CHARLES GREEN paid £2.75million for players' contracts as part of his consortium's £5.5m buyout of Rangers, it has been revealed.

The club's administrators, Duff & Phelps, have revealed a breakdown of the assets of the club, most of which related to their sale of Rangers to Sevco Scotland Limited.

Mr Green's consortium paid for the club's employees to transfer to his new company under the Transfer Of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, which protects employees' terms and conditions of employment when a business is transferred from one owner to another.

However, on the advice of their union, PFA Scotland, many players did not transfer to Sevco. The union says the players are now free agents.

Mr Green rejects that claim and has sent letters to clubs across the UK warning them that the players who objected to the switch to his new company were in breach of contract.

International clearance for the transfers of Steve Davis, Kyle Lafferty, Jamie Ness, Steven Whittaker and Steven Naismith has been put on hold as Mr Green continues to dispute the players' status.

Naismith has moved to Everton, Whittaker has signed for Norwich and Ness has joined Stoke. Northern Irish duo Davis and Lafferty are at Southampton and Swiss side Sion respectively, while goalkeeper Allan McGregor is in talks with Turkish club Besiktas.

The Duff & Phelps document, issued to the old company's creditors, shows Mr Green paid £1.5m for "heritable properties", which include Ibrox Stadium and the Murray Park training ground.

The club's member share of the Scottish Premier League and its membership of the Scottish Football Association were each sold for £1.

The report also outlines the six offers received for Rangers between April 4, when "best and final offers" were required, and the acceptance of Sevco's bid on May 12.

It is also claimed a £6m verbal offer was received following the failure of Duff & Phelps to secure a Company Voluntary Arrangement, but that was rejected because of a "binding, contractual agreement" with Sevco.

SPL clubs have refused to allow the new company into to the top flight, leaving Rangers to seek membership of the Scottish Football League, with that request subject to a vote by its clubs tomorrow.

The SPL, SFA and SFL have also revealed they are considering reforms aimed at "rejuvenating and safeguarding" Scottish football. They could involve Rangers joining the SFL First Division instead of the Third Division.

But while fans await the decision on which division Rangers will be in, they are angry the club may get no money for losing their star players

Andy Kerr, president of the Rangers Supporters' Assembly, said: "We have lost a pretty prime source of potential income to the new company.

"The market value of these players would probably have been in double figures of millions and they have gone for nothing, which is a serious blow to the new company.

"I think what we all envisaged was the players might transfer as they considered their futures. If we were going to a lower division we would fully understand that a number of them would choose to leave but at least the club would get a transfer fee.

" That hasn't happened and that is the biggest disappointment of all."

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