Ex-Gers star who broke Ibrox hearts in 2022 warned off manager gig amid English job links
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The name Aaron Ramsey is often enough to send a shudder down the spines of the collective Rangers support.
The Welsh international midfielder, who is now 33, spent six months at Ibrox at the start of 2022 after arriving at the club on loan from Serie A giants Juventus.
Lauded as a glamour signing of old, the move turned out to be a disastrous one for Rangers who let slip a seven point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Aaron Ramsey, who surprise, surprise spent the bulk of his time at Ibrox injured, was scarcely involved.
But it's not on domestic soil for which Ramsey's stint at Rangers is most infamous, with the midfielder missing the decisive penalty kick in the Europa League Final shoot-out defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Still turning out for Cardiff City, now Aaron Ramsey is being tipped to take the step into football management but is being warned about taking the leap too soon.
Aaron Ramsey tipped to take step into management
Cardiff City are on the hunt for a new manager and experienced midfielder Aaron Ramsey's name has been discussed amongst Bluebirds fans.
It comes with the Welsh side bottom of the English Championship table, having parted ways with Turkish coach Erol Bulut.
Whilst the likes of Slaven Bilic, Nathan Jones and Ryan Lowe are the leading names in discussions, ex-Rangers star Ramsey has been mentioned by supporters.
Interim boss Omer Riza has also put his name in the hat.
But the chatter around Ramsey is so loud, that Welsh manager Craig Bellamy has been asked about the situation heading into the international break.
Tipping Aaron Ramsey to one day follow his lead into football management, Bellamy has warned the midfielder off a player/coach role a la Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht.
“I definitely see that part of him [management]… I believe it’s starting to circle, because it does later on in your career,” Bellamy told BBC Sport.
“I’m quietly confident he will, I’m quietly confident he will see that part of the game for him.
“With his experiences and his knowledge, his understanding of the game, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t at a high level.”
Asked about the potential of Ramsey becoming a player/coach, Bellamy said: “I don’t see that at the moment [for Ramsey], no.
“I saw Vinny [Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany] do that at Anderlecht [where Bellamy was the Belgian club’s under-21 coach] and it was really difficult.
“That was the first time I’ve seen it close up, I’ve not been exposed to that playing-wise. I would probably not recommend it, just my experience with Vinny doing it at Anderlecht.
“I felt that he felt it was going to be one or the other – he was going to carry on playing or he was going to be a manager, and then he chose the manager route.
“So yeah, I believe that’s a difficult one.”
Ex-Rangers midfielder 'gutted' about penalty miss
Rangers fans have got such deep-seated trauma when it comes to Aaron Ramsey that the midfielder's relationship with the Ibrox support is forever frayed.
In a short six month spell, Ramsey etched his name into the history of Rangers for all the wrong reasons with that spurned spot-kick the biggest in Ibrox history.
Rangers' downturn in the aftermath of the Europa League Final defeat has also been stark.
Despite describing Rangers as a 'special club', Ramsey has previously lamented his role in the Europa League Final defeat and admits he wishes he'd played longer in the game.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst subbed Ramsey on just minutes from the end with a penalty kick in mind.
"I just wish that I'd played longer in the final," Ramsey told Four Four Two.
"I felt I could have brought something different to the table had I come on a bit earlier. I was essentially brought on solely to take a penalty in the shootout, which I'm not sure is the best idea.
"That played on my mind as I went to take it, instead of being clear about where I wanted to put it. I'm still gutted that I missed that penalty and gutted for the fans that we couldn't lift the trophy for them."
Aaron Ramsey played 13 games in total for Rangers, scoring two goals and laying on two assists.
