Rangers exile will help returning Ibrox player become a star again as St Johnstone red card fate learned
The Romanian ace has picked up a two-match ban for his straight red card against St Johnstone on his comeback appearance
Ianis Hagi has been backed to rediscover his top form in a Rangers jersey after putting his nightmare Ibrox exile behind him.
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The Romanian international has returned to manager Philippe Clement’s first-team squad for the first time since August 2023 after agreeing a contract resolution after it was revealed earlier this summer that the 25-year-old was due a significant wage rise once he hit the 100-appearance mark.
That resulted in Hagi being frozen out of the senior set-up for 14 months and relegated to the B team, having spent time out on loan to La Liga outfit Deportivo Alaves last term before a deal was eventually thrashed out which included the player sacrificing a large chunk of his wage increase.
Hagi finally registered his Gers century after coming on as a substitute during the 2-0 Premiership victory over St Johnstone on Sunday night - but he’s now facing another period on the sidelines after being sent off late on for a dangerous tackle on Benjamin Kimpioka.
He was initially booked by referee David Dickinson but after a pitchside VAR review the punishment was upgraded to a straight red for serious foul play shortly after setting up Vaclav Cerny’s second goal.
Hagi will now begin a two-match automatic suspension irrespective of the competition with the attacker’s situation further complicated by the face he is not part of Rangers’ European squad, ruling him out of action until October 30 at the earliest. He will miss league clashes against Kilmarnock and St Mirren, while also sitting out of the Europa League showdown against his countrymen Steaua Bucharest - a fixture he was already ineligible for.
Despite the ban, his uncle - former Barcelona defender Gheorghe Popescu - is confident Hagi will be better than ever once he returns against Aberdeen at Pittodrie later this month.
He told ProSport: “I’m glad the nightmare ended and now that Ianis is back playing for Rangers, I’m convinced that all this time has strengthened him, returning to the player we all know, with a lot of quality and ambition to perform. I’m sure he will have a good season.”