Former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has revealed he rejected a transfer to Italian club Parma early in his career. Halliday said the wages offered by the Serie A side were the primary reason he turned down the move after a two-week trial.
"I went on trial at Parma, believe it or not," Halliday said. He explained the trial followed his breakthrough season with Livingston in 2009/2010, where he scored 16 goals in Scotland's third division. "And I was signing the dotted line away from being a Parma player," he added, but the financial terms were not acceptable.
Halliday, now 35, instead moved quickly to join Middlesbrough that same summer. His career later included spells at Bradford City, Rangers, Hearts and Motherwell before he retired from professional football this past summer. The 2009/2010 campaign at Livingston, where he was a regular goalscorer, proved to be the springboard for his move to England.
His revelation comes as the current Rangers side, where he spent three seasons, prepares for its next Premiership fixture. Rangers sit second in the table with 20 points from nine games, four points behind leaders Celtic. Their recent form shows four wins and a draw from the last five matches, a run that includes a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock and a 2-2 draw with Dundee last weekend. Philippe Clement's team hosts fifth-placed ST Johnstone at Ibrox on Saturday, October 24, looking to close the gap at the top. Halliday's career reflection offers a nostalgic contrast to the club's present title challenge.
The team's record of six wins, two draws, and one loss this season has yielded 20 points, with 13 goals scored and only seven conceded for a positive goal difference of six. Their unbeaten run of five games, with four wins and a draw, began with a 1-0 win over ST Mirren on September 9 and featured consecutive 3-0 and 1-0 victories over Celtic. In the recent 2-2 draw at Dundee on Saturday 17 October, Badredine Bouanani and Nicolas Raskin were on the scoresheet for Rangers, while in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock a week earlier, Ryan Naderi scored twice. Naderi is the team's top scorer this season with four goals in eight appearances. The focus now turns to maintaining this form against ST Johnstone this Saturday.
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