Dutch side Vitesse have been urged to take a look at Phillippe Clement’s Rangers as an example of how bankruptcy is not the end of the world.
NRC cover the club today and how the Rangers story could be one for them to follow, particularly now they’re enjoying life under Clement at Ibrox.
They explain that perhaps Vitesse would be ‘better off’ filing for insolvency as they struggle with sky high debts that they seemingly can’t solve.
The most recent plan had been for one of their creditors, the American Common Group, to buy the club from Russian owner Valeri Ojf but the American’s refusal to make clear where their funds were coming from meant it was blocked by the KNVB.
Much of the issue has come from money owed to foreign creditors, with the club no longer being secretly bankrolled by Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vitesse need some of their creditors to simply cancel their debts, which isn’t likely to happen, and while the government are working hard to keep them alive, the answer could be bankruptcy.
That is where Rangers come into it. They were of course made bankrupt in 2012 but immediately after that a ‘legally new’ and therefore debt free Rangers FC was started in the fourth tier in Scotland.
They were backed by the supporters and after four years and three promotions, were back in the top flight once again before becoming champions again in 2021.
The newspaper says that redemption story at Ibrox, which is a ‘beautiful football story of suffering, struggle and loyalty’ could be one for Vitesse to follow.
Just like Rangers they could start again as, for examples, FC Vitesse Arnhem, even perhaps as part of a supporters trust. That would at least mean the club, government and everyone involved wouldn’t have to be going to extremes to avoid bankruptcy.
In fact, it could be a positive as all that effort is currently being wasted on ‘dubious investors’ as it is.
The belief is that bankruptcy and starting again is not the end and Rangers can attest to that, having started again, suffered and risen back to their old status over the last decade.
