The reluctant Ranger
By Matthew Spiro
The Auxerre defender was impressed by Rangers and feels wanted by the Scots, but won’t confirm if he is moving to Ibrox in the summer
I don’t want to talk about transfers,” says Jean-Alain Boumsong firmly before taking his seat in the interview room at AJ Auxerre’s stadium. The France international who, according to Rangers, signed a pre-contract agreement with the Ibrox club before Christmas, is on his guard. “I’m under contract with Auxerre for another six months,” he insists. “There’s still a lot of work for me to do here, so I don’t want to say, ‘That’s it, I’m off to join this club or that club’, I just want to concentrate on my job.”
When pressed on whether or not Rangers’ claims were correct, he squirms: “It’s not possible for me to say if there is or isn’t a deal in place with Rangers. Right now I just want to concentrate on recovering from my (knee) injury. When I am playing again — in a few weeks — it will be possible to say more.”
Boumsong’s cautious words are at variance with those who call the shots at Rangers: manager Alex McLeish, chairman John McClelland, and honorary chairman David Murray. All have expressed their delight at capturing one of France’s most promising young players last month. But while the Auxerre defender remained evasive on the issue of pre-contracts, he was happy to express his admiration for Rangers and appears to have his heart set on a move to Ibrox.
“I have been to Glasgow for talks and was impressed by what I saw and what I heard,” he explains. “I got on very well with the manager, I got on very well with David Murray and also with the director of football (business) Martin Bain. From a human point of view they all came across very well, and for me human relations is the most important factor.”
An intelligent and personable individual, Boumsong repeatedly emphasises the importance of human relations. He regards himself a good judge of character and believes that in McLeish, Murray and Bain, he has found three people he can trust. “In life you have to go with your instincts, and I left the meeting in Glasgow with good vibes,” he adds. “They made it clear that they wanted me and I found what Alex McLeish had to say interesting. They are in the process of building a young team and are showing ambition.”
Liverpool, Arsenal, Juventus and Inter Milan all expressed an interest in signing Boumsong, but crucially none of those clubs showed the same level of decisiveness as Rangers. Monaco-based agent Willie Mackay was keen to claim credit for setting up the deal with Rangers, though Boumsong laughs off the suggestion that Mackay has played an important part. “It’s true that we bumped into each other at Marc-Vivien Foé’s memorial match and we spoke about Rangers,” he says. “But Rangers were interested in me before then. He helped initiate the contact, but that’s it. I have my own agent. If there is anyone who is responsible it’s me, because I’m a good player and the sort of player Rangers are looking for.”
In reality it was Liverpool’s handling of Boumsong — which stood in stark contrast to the red-carpet treatment he received at Rangers — that helped make up the 24-year-old’s mind. Gerard Houllier first inquired about Boumsong when he was a teenager at Le Havre. Four years later, Boumsong was still waiting to receive a concrete offer from the Reds: “They kept telling me to wait and wait. I wasn’t getting a good feeling from Liverpool and there comes a point when you think, ‘Why keep on waiting for something when you don’t even know if what you’re waiting for will be worth it’?”
More than anything, Boumsong needs to feel wanted. He spent the first two seasons of his career at Le Havre but, when they were relegated in 2000, he opted to join Auxerre. His reasons for choosing Auxerre sound familiar. “It was clear that I was a priority for them,” he says. “Bastia were also interested, but Auxerre really wanted me.” Shortly after making a verbal agreement with Auxerre, Boumsong was contacted by Lyon. “I turned them down because I’d given Auxerre my word. I am a loyal person,” he adds.
This season, with time running out on his Auxerre contract, Boumsong was once more in need of security and did not feel he could count on Liverpool. “In football you never know what is around the corner. Before Christmas I injured my knee against Lens. Thank God it was not serious but if it had been and I’d been ruled out for the season, no one would be interested in me. In the summer my contract with Auxerre would be finished, and I’d be unemployed. I couldn’t wait for Liverpool forever.” Liverpool’s loss looks set to be Rangers’ gain. For there can be little doubt that the signing of Boumsong, an outstanding young central defender capped three times by France in the last six months, would represent a considerable coup.
At 6ft 3in, he cuts an imposing figure and his powerful defensive play has seen him billed in France as the “new Marcel Desailly”. Slightly embarrassed by the notion, Boumsong is none the less flattered. “It’s quite a complement,” he says. “If I have three-quarters the career of Desailly, that’d be great. If I manage to achieve as much as he has, it’d be unbelievable. When I look back at his career and see how consistent he has been, I know what the benchmark is for me.”
Yet the reality is that Boumsong is very much knocking on Desailly’s door and could even take the Chelsea defender’s place at Euro 2004. Jacques Santini, the France manager, has admitted he is concerned by the captain’s injury problems and lack of matches at Stamford Bridge, and Boumsong — along with Lilian Thuram and William Gallas — is a leading candidate to step into the centre of defence alongside Mikael Silvestre. “For now my objective is to make sure I go to Port-ugal,” insists Boumsong, who scored his first goal for France in the Euro 2004 qualifier against Israel in October. “If I was in the starting line up against England it’d be a dream come true, but there is a lot of competition in the France squad and few players are sure of their places. In any case, I can assure you that Desailly is not finished,” he adds.
Boumsong’s quest for a regular place is unlikely to be made easier by a move to Scotland, but he is prepared to take the risk. Reports that he had discussed the move with Santini are, however, false. “Completely and utterly made up,” the player sighs. “I have not spoken to Jacques Santini about Rangers and I am not planning to. This is a decision that I have to make on my own and thenface the consequences, whatever they may be.”
Certainly, Boumsong has the brains to make big decisions without being swayed by others. Born in Douala, Cameroon, he moved to France at the age of 14 with the intention of becoming a doctor. “That was what I had my heart set on,” he recalls. “Of course, playing professional football was also a dream, but I had not played much in Cameroon. I never had a licence to play for a club, so I did not consider it a realistic career option.” That soon changed when he was picked for the Ile de France regional team and subsequently attracted the attention of a host of First Division clubs. “Auxerre were interested but I wanted to continue my studies so I signed for Le Havre where there is also a university.”
It was not possible for Boumsong to study medicine in Le Havre — “it got complicated because the medical school wasn’t happy about me playing First Division football every Saturday” — so he opted to take, and pass, a degree in mathematics. “It gives me a concrete qualification,” he reasons. “If ever my football career goes wrong, I know I could earn a living as an engineer, for example.” With the studies finished, Boumsong spends most of his spare time reading, “mainly economic journals or newspapers such as Le Figaro, although I also like to read novels that are based on true stories”.
So if Boumsong is so clever and so talented, why is he moving to Scotland? “I know the Scottish League is not particularly strong,” he says, “but there are European cups to think about, too. The possibility of playing in the Champions League every season is what attracts me most. A footballer takes a step forward every time he plays in the Champions League.” But McClelland’s claim that Boumsong could be the cornerstone of the side for years to come was shot down by the Frenchman. “I’d like to play for a top club in England and I think that playing for a couple of seasons at Rangers would serve as a good springboard for that,” he adds ominously.
Rangers supporters will no doubt be wary. Past experience tells them that so-called “world-class” players do not come to Ibrox any more unless there is a snag. The club have made a habit of signing high-profile players on extortionate wages, only for them to turn out to be either injury-prone, past their best or both. It is a policy that has allowed Celtic to regain supremacy in Scotland and left Rangers with crippling debts of £68m. Boumsong, though, who has reportedly agreed a five-year contract worth £45,000 a week, is adamant that he is not about to become Rangers’ latest world-class flop. “If I do go to Scotland, I won’t be going just to earn lots of money and to sleep,” he insists. “I’d be going there to win trophies. And I’m not just talking about winning trophies in Scotland, I’m talking about European titles.”
The strapping Frenchman certainly talks a good game, but something continues to niggle away inside his head that is preventing him from making the transfer official. Asked whether his injury has led to complications, he is insistent: “No, no. They’re aware of the situation and they know that the injury is not serious.” Perhaps he is waiting for another club to come in? “No, I’m fed up of waiting.”
Certainly Boumsong’s mind seems focused on Rangers and in “a few weeks” he will speak more freely on the subject. “For the time being, all I can say to the Rangers supporters is that they should have faith in their management. They are good people and they can be trusted.”
For Boumsong, it always boils down to trust. Whether the Rangers fans can rely upon him remains to be seen.
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