90s goal machine Marco Negri has had a quarter of a century to mull over the mistakes of his Rangers career.
Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the Italian’s Ibrox move - a switch that at first looked like it would see the £3.5million signing from Perugia smash all manner of goalscoring records but instead ended with Gers’ dreams of 10 in a row shattered and Negri’s relationships in Glasgow shred to pieces.
It’s taken years for the striker - now 51 - to repair his damaged relations with the Light Blues legions but the regrets over the fateful events of that first year in Scotland continue to gnaw away. That’s why a man who famously rattled home an astounding 23 goals in his first 10 league games for Walter Smith’s team - including a five-goal haul in a single clash with Dundee United - reckons Rangers' modern-day talisman Alfredo Morelos should think carefully as he ponders his own future this summer.
The Colombian is into the final 12 months of his contract and Ibrox chiefs - who have not given up hope of agreeing an extension - are bracing themselves just in case negotiations fail and they have to press the button on Morelos’ sale, lest they see their biggest asset walk out the door for nowt next year.
Given a second chance, Negri would do it all so differently.
And he just hopes Morelos is not left to ponder his own mournful what-ifs in the decades to come.
He told Record Sport : “Looking back I can say I made a few mistakes, I have some regrets but a lot of joy and great memories.
“Playing for Rangers was absolutely the highest point of my career - and I’m sure Alfredo will say the same when he finally retires.
“The club cannot afford to lose a big player like Morelos on a free transfer.
“But Alfredo has to realise what is the best for his development.
“Sometimes players can think other clubs are better.
“But if you are settled in a city, loved by millions of fans, get on with your team-mates and play for one of the most successful clubs in the world, I don’t think a striker can want more.
“I really hope Morelos will stay and deliver more goals and trophies for Rangers.
“I really like him. I think he was the man the team missed so much at the end of the season. Without him Rangers lost a lot of power up front.
“If Alfredo had been on the pitch, the Europa League final in Seville might have gone another way.”
Smith might say something similar about his own’s sides prospects back in 1997/98.
Chasing a record-breaking 10th straight league crown, their quest for Ibrox immortality looked to be firmly on course with Negri performing miracles up top.
That was until the freak eye injury sustained during that infamous squash game with Sergio Porrini derailed his season and Gers’ push for glory.
While Negri had fired 31 goals by the time Santa was climbing into his sleigh, he managed to deliver just five more in the second half of the season as Gers came up short in their quest for the 10.
After that came a bitter fall out with Sir David Murray after Negri slammed down the phone on the chairman and led to him becoming a pariah figure around the new squad assembled by Smith’s successor Dick Advocaat.
The poacher saw his wages docked as he registered just three more appearances for the club before eventually being punted back to Bologna after four years in Glasgow.
“My first four or five months, I was flying, scoring for fun,” he recalled. “I wish I could live those months back over and over again.
“Everything was in the right direction, we were top of the league and going for 10 in a row, which I knew was so big for the fans.
“At that time I was one of the most prolific scorers in Europe.
“I was playing with Paul Gascoigne, Jorg Albertz, Brian Laudrup - with those guys, being a striker was just like ordering room service! You just waited around the box and the ball would always come!
“To score 30 goals before Christmas is something special - but I still think what if it had continued?
“You can always accept an injury on the pitch, an ACL or a broken leg, it’s part of the job.
“But having the most bizarre injury, a squash ball travelling at 100mph hitting my eye on a day off with Porrini, was so tough to accept.
“I couldn’t train for so long because the retina was so badly damaged. I couldn’t even fly home to Italy because the pressure on the plane would have been too dangerous.
“Now 25 years on, I can accept that sometimes life is positive, sometimes negative. But at the time it was difficult.
“I was even close to getting a call-up for the national team ahead of the World Cup in 1998.
“But after this accident I was out of the team for two months, just sitting in the house over-thinking. It was a bad time for me.
“I’d been in a magic bubble before that but it burst as soon as that squash ball hit my eye.
“I also made some mistakes because we are human. I’m not perfect. I reacted to some situations in a bad way.
“It cost me because after those mistakes, I was out of the team and missed the chance to play for a fantastic club with the best supporters in Europe.
“But the most important thing is to accept that and fix it if you can.
“That’s why after my career ended I made sure to give my love to the Rangers fans, to go to conventions or Q&As. Signing a picture or doing something for the club’s charity is a pleasure for me.”
For some fans, nothing Negri says of does will ever repair the old wounds.
But he’s just glad Gers themselves have shaken off the hurt of their own painful past decade.
“I realised how big the club was only after I signed,” he said. “I remember my first game was the Nike Family Day, it was a training match between the squad - but more than 40,000 people showed up. It was incredible.
“I immediately knew it was a top club.
“Now it’s 25 years on and a lot of time has passed.
“I’m so happy the club is back at the top in Scotland and in Europe.”
