Rangers favourite Lorenzo Amoruso has told TV Play that he advised Gennaro Gattuso to leave Ibrox.
Amoruso joined Rangers from Fiorentina in 1997, the same year his compatriot arrived at Ibrox from Perugia.
The duo spent a season together at Rangers, and the 52-year-old has revealed why he had asked Gattuso to leave Ibrox. The latter left Rangers for Salernitana, before moving to AC Milan in 1999.
“He’s always been genuine, I went through a very bad period in my career where I got injured and lived at his house as a guest of his family,” he said.
“I have a special relationship, of respect and sympathy, I was the one who advised him as an older brother to leave Rangers because the coach didn’t see him, also moving my agent to go to Salernitana where his career took off.”
Walter Smith was the manager when Gattuso arrived at Rangers and was replaced by Dick Advocaat, who didn’t favour the Italian.
Amoruso left Italy for the first time when he made a switch to Ibrox. He spent six years at Rangers between 1997 and 2003, before leaving them for Blackburn Rovers.
During his time at Ibrox, The former defender won nine trophies, including three league titles. Amoruso had scored 20 goals and registered four assists from 191 appearances for Rangers.
The Rangers favourite has explained how the time spent at the Scottish club influenced him.
When asked about his spell at Ibrox, Amoruso explained: “It was a fantastic experience, however it opens your head, you go to a different culture. You compare yourself with different nationalities, footballers who came from all over the world.”
“It’s incredible to enter into a way of communicating, relating to fans and the press that is completely different from that in Italy where there have been unresolved problems for many years. It was a piece of life that changed me, increased me and made me improve in many ways.”
