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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Mark Walker

Ianis Hagi hit with international axe calls after Rangers Champions League omission

Ianis Hagi faces more heartache as he faces an uncertain Rangers future after he faced calls from a Romanian legend to be dropped from their international team too.

Rangers boss Michael Beale has axed Hagi from their Champions League squad and he seems set to quit Ibrox before the end of the transfer window.

But he should also be axed for Romania's squad for their Euro 2024 double-header against Israel and Kosovo next month, according to Danut Lupu, who was a teammate of Hagi's famous father Gheorghe in the impressive Romania team of the 1990s.

He said: "It would spoil the whole atmosphere of the national team if they called up Ianis Hagi now.

"I don't think that at this current time, we can say that the national team needs Ianis Hagi.

"He has not played recently, he is a player who can help the national team only if he plays at club level.

"I have respect for Gheorghe Hagi and I admire what he does for Ianis as a parent, but he must understand that his son cannot be called up if he is not playing for Rangers.

"It's not like his dad, who made all the difference when he played for us. We couldn't do without him and you cannot say that about Ianis.

"My advice to him is to leave Rangers immediately. Don't stay where you are not wanted.

"I don't know why he would want to stay anyway. Until he got injured he was a key player at Rangers."

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