Forget Snoop Dogg to Celtic - I simulated a Gordon Ramsay £80m Rangers takeover and this is what happened

All of this talk of Snoop Dogg considering a move to invest in Scottish Premiership champions Celtic got us thinking here at 3 Added Minutes.

Celebrity takeovers have been something of a talking point in recent years after the Class of 92 fired Salford City into the EFL and, of course, who can ignore the Wrexham story as the Welsh club were catapulted from the National League into League One thanks to the backing of Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. So who else could get involved in a club?

Well, if it’s good enough for Celtic, why not spice up their rivalry with cross-city rivals Rangers with the introduction of a man who knows how to spice things up in his career. Lifelong supporter and world class chef Gordon Ramsay is well-known for his love of Rangers and is a regular visitor to Ibrox. With an estimated net worth said to be around £200m, we thought the introduction of Ramsay could provide a recipe for success for his beloved club.

So we fired up Football Manager 2024, played out the remainder of the 2024/25 season and used the editor to allow the world’s most famous celebrity chef to be installed as chairman at Ibrox before seeing how next summer would play out.

What decision was taken over Philippe Clement’s future?

Actually, none! Unlike in our simulation of Snoop Dogg’s takeover at Celtic, the new chairman at Rangers opted to retain faith with the manager they inherited, despite Clement failing to win a major honour during his first full season in charge at Ibrox. So it was all about Ramsey and his board backing their manager in a bid to move on from a rather underwhelming season. Fears of Ramsay clamping Clement’s head between two slices of bread and forcing him to admit being an ‘idiot sandwich’ were mercifully unfounded.

Who was allowed to leave Rangers?

Although Clement was handed an £80m transfer budget, his first decisions came with departures and an immediate decision to opt against converting loan deals for Vaclav Cerny, Oscar Cortes and Neraysho Kasanwirjo into permanent moves. Adam Devine was also allowed to depart when his contract came to an end and there were two further exits confirmed as Danilo joined German club Wolfsburg in a £6m deal and Dujon Sterling moved to Leeds United in a £5m switch. That meant Clement’s budget was increased to just over £90m and he made good use of that financial backing.

Who did a Ramsey-backed Rangers bring in?

Firstly, there were a quickfire trio of free transfer deals agreed as Clement secured a number of pre-contract agreements with players heading towards the end of their contracts with their current clubs. A leading striker was brought in when a deal was agreed with Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson and he was joined by former Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti after his contract with Lille expired. A final free transfer agreement came from within the Premiership as further firepower was added to the Rangers ranks as they swooped to sign Hearts and Scotland star Lawrence Shankland.

Rangers record signing remains the £12m they paid for Tore Andre Flo in 2000 - but that fee was surpassed on four separate occasions as Clement looked to piece together a squad capable of challenging on all fronts during his second full season in charge of the club. First up was the £18m signing of Leicester City and Belgium centre-back Wout Faes before the midfield was bolstered with a £15m deal for Aston Villa star Ross Barkley. A new record high was set with a £26m deal for Everton winger Dwight McNeil and the summer spend was rounded off with another £15m move as Manchester City’s James McAtee moved to Ibrox.

And there we have it, Football Manager has spoken. Will Chef Ramsay trade his whites for a three-piece business suit and head into the Rangers boardroom? It’s astonishingly unlikely. Just think of what he could do for the catering though...