Michael Beale named Rangers manager on three-and-a-half year deal as he clinches emotional Ibrox return

Rangers have officially announced the appointment of Michael Beale as their new manager - with the Englishman completing an emotional return to Ibrox on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

The 42-year-old has been named as the club’s 18th permanent manager, one year after departing the Glasgow giants to assist Steven Gerrard at Premier League side Aston Villa.

Beale landed his first managerial role with QPR earlier this summer but after just six months, the lure of returning north of the border as Light Blues boss has proved too strong to turn down as he succeeds Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the hot seat.

The Londoner, who recently turned down the Wolves job, will take charge of his first competitive game in the Scottish Premiership clash with Hbernian after the World Cup break on December 15. His initial tasked is to try to make inroads into the nine-point gap seperating Rangers and league leaders Celtic.

A club statement read: “Michael Beale is the 18th manager of Rangers with the club delighted to confirm his appointment today.

“Signing a contract to 2026, the 42 year-old joins from his role as manager of Queens’ Park Rangers in West London having previously worked as first-team coach at Ibrox from 2018 to last November.

“It is an exciting appointment for the club, with Beale undoubtedly one of the most sought-after young managers in British football.

“Indeed, in his previous time at Rangers he tirelessly supported manager Steven Gerrard and the technical staff in working towards winning title number 55 in 2021, while the club, under Gerrard, was relaunched on the European stage and built a superb reputation once there.

“Beale has strong, existing relationships with many members of the first-team squad, and, of course, fully understands the unique nature of Rangers Football Club and the demands and standards that come with representing the club.

“To date, his coaching career has seen him hold roles within the academies at Chelsea and Liverpool; as assistant manager at Sao Paulo in Brazil, and also as first-team coach at Rangers and Aston Villa before taking the QPR lead job in the summer.

“Beale will now have time to prepare his squad at the Rangers Training Centre, with his first competitive game coming on December 15 at home to Hibernian, albeit Gers will first host Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly match on December 10.

“Rangers would like to put on record their thanks to Queens’ Park Rangers for the professional manner in which they have conducted negotiations.

“Neil Banfield, Harry Watling and Damian Matthew will all join Michael at Rangers, with further appointments to be confirmed in the days ahead.”

Rangers chairman, Douglas Park commented:“I am delighted to welcome Michael as our new manager as we aim to strengthen our on-field performance. Michael is a very exciting appointment for us, and his energy and ambition stood out both when he was here previously, and in the discussions we have had prior to him re-joining. The board will support both Michael and Ross Wilson to make this appointment a success, and I wish him the very best going forward.”

On his appointment, Beale continued: “It is fantastic to be back and to see everybody this morning, there are some new faces but some people that I know really well so it is great to see everyone.

“I am hugely proud, it is a wonderful, wonderful football club, it is an institution. For everyone that works here it is a huge privilege, but to be the manager of this football club, that is extremely special. Some wonderful people have sat in this chair prior to me, and I am hugely proud to be the person sat here now.”

Sporting Director, Ross Wilson, added: “I am pleased to welcome Michael back to Rangers today. I know how excited he is about everything that comes with the prestige of being Rangers manager.

“Equally our players and staff at both the training ground and at Ibrox are looking forward to working with Michael. He has a clear plan and will get to work with the group straight away along with the technical and support staff. Finally, this is a coveted managerial position and after an intense week of discussions, I wish to extend our sincere thanks to all of the excellent managers who we met to discuss the role.”