“I miss him” – Forward sad player was sold to Rangers, Beale signing was ‘like a brother’ to him

Feyenoord striker Igor Paixão has admitted he misses former teammate Danilo following his move to Glasgow Rangers this summer.

The Feyenoord man has been speaking to Feyenoord Magazine, relayed by 1908.nl, regarding his former partner, who moved to Ibrox in the summer.

Danilo was one of several new faces to arrive at Ibrox in the summer transfer window to bolster Michael Beale’s squad, joining from Feyenoord in a €6.3m deal.

He had only been at Feyenoord for a year after arriving on a free transfer from Ajax in July 2022 but impressed in his sole season at the club, bagging 14 goals and four assists as they won the Eredivisie title.

It was presumably those numbers that led Rangers to move to bring him to Ibrox and add him to a forward line that had lost Alfredo Morelos but added Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers as competition for Kemar Roofe alongside the arrival of Danilo.

While his arrival at Rangers has bolstered Beale’s options, it meant a hole being left in Feyenoord’s squad and Paixão admits he misses his former teammate.

“He knew the Netherlands, spoke the language,” he said.

“He really felt like a brother to me. What he did for me, and my family is almost indescribable. I am extremely grateful to him.

“I miss him, of course. But life goes the way it goes, so is football. Everyone goes their own way.”