Rangers appoint former Monaco boss Philippe Clement as new manager - 'I am hugely excited by this chance’

Rangers have appointed former Monaco head coach Philippe Clement as their new manager, following Michael Beale’s exit earlier this month.

Clement joins the Scottish Premiership side on a three-and-a-half-year deal, four months after he was sacked from the Ligue 1 club.

John Bennett, Rangers chairman, named Clement as the “outstanding candidate” following their search for Beale’s replacement.

The 49-year-old’s appointment came at the end of a “carefully planned and comprehensive recruitment process” which was overseen by the Rangers board that included former Rangers player and manager Graeme Souness.

Upon his arrival, Clement said he was “honoured” to join the Scottish club.

“I am hugely excited by this chance to achieve success at one of Europe’s most iconic clubs across four competitions in what remains of this season and beyond,” he told the club website.

“I am looking forward to meeting with the players in the coming days and to meeting our supporters as we set out together to create a successful, winning Rangers.”

Clement’s first game in charge will be Saturday's home match against Hibernian, and he’ll meet up with the squad and “new management team” for the first time on Monday.

Rangers are currently second in the Scottish Premiership, seven points adrift of leaders Celtic as the club seek to win their first title since 2021.

Clement began his managerial career at Club Brugge as interim manager in 2012 and 2013, the club he played at for a decade where he racked up over 300 appearances.

After winning the Belgian league with Genk in 2018/19, he returned to Club Brugge and won back-to-back championships in 2019/20 and 2020/21 - his third successive Belgian Pro League title.

The former defender represented Belgium 38 times, playing at the 1998 World Cup and part of the Euro 2000 squad, and also got a taste of British football with Coventry City in the 1998/99 season.

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