Whyte made several demands during talks about the shares, including a request to be paid £1 million a season and to be granted seats in the directors' box, which members of the consortium agreed to consider when they owned the club. However, once established as directors, the Ibrox board rejected Whyte's demands.

Whyte announced last week that he also intends to sue the administrators, Duff & Phelps, because he believes that they had agreed to return the club to him after the administration process.

"I've never worked with Craig Whyte," Green said. "I was introduced to him by Imran Ahmad [a member of Green's consortium and now Rangers' commercial director]. We needed to get hold of Craig Whyte's shares, so Duff & Phelps would treat us as credible. We didn't need them in the end because it went down the newco route.

"I met him four times in London, Imran Ahmad has had loads of meetings with him. People thought we were working with Craig Whyte, [but] I believe he is now suing us, because he believes he was entitled to something for handing over the shares."

Green, talking ahead of the club's planned share launch on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), also denied rumours on Celtic supporters' websites that the sale and leaseback of the club's properties – Ibrox, Murray Park and the Albion car park – is being considered, and that the club had been "massaging" attendance figures this season.

He said: "I might be Green, but I'm not a cabbage. It's just rubbish put out by people trying to disrupt the IPO [share offer].

"We have no reason to massage the numbers."