Dubai: Fujairah’s Algerian defender Majid Bougherra said the dream of ending his career at Glasgow Rangers is still alive despite reports on the contrary.
Recent reports suggested Bougherra had been snubbed by Rangers when trying to plan a return to Ibrox this summer, prompting him to instead extend his contract at Fujairah by another season.
However, speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of as Adidas event at Dubai Sports World on Tuesday, Bougherra, said that wasn’t the case. “They misunderstood me,” he said. “I’ve had no contact with Rangers this summer. I’ve read in the papers that now I can’t finish my career there, but I want to, and I still can.
“I just have to finish this season [2015/16] with Fujairah and maybe next year I can go to Glasgow. The dream is still alive. I won’t go to Glasgow today but maybe in the future.”
The 32-year-old centre-back, who led Algeria to the last 16 of the 2014 Fifa World Cup, enjoyed the form of his life at Rangers winning five trophies there between 2008 and 2011. And he has long maintained his desire to finish his career there.
Rangers are currently playing Scotland’s second tier, having dropped down the divisions after going into liquidation in 2012, but Bougherra said he would play for the club at any level.
“It’s not about me not going there this year because they are not back in the first division yet. First or second division, I don’t care,” he added. “It’s about the history, I was there with them and it’s about what I feel and what I have lived with them. My three years there were fantastic.”
Of his one-year contract extension at Fujairah, he added: “In my first contract it was agreed that if we stayed in the league I would get a one-year extension. So, everything was automatic, I knew I would stay in Fujairah and now the challenge is to keep going this year.
“This year was good for Fujairah [they finished ninth in the Arabian Gulf League]. It was the first time we stayed in the league. So, we’ve completed the first target and now the second target is to be inside the top five.
“That’s realistic, because when you saw the second part of the season [17 of their total 32 points came after January] we deserved better. We lost some easy games in the first part but then coach Ivan Hasek came and he changed everything, so for us I’m very confident.
“When I first came to Fujairah I was a bit apprehensive, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but month after month I became more confident and when Hasek and [Algerian midfielder] Karim Ziani came in January, I knew we were going to improve.”
