Rangers are on the verge of appointing a successor to Mark Warburton: Qatari club Al-Gharafa have given their permission to allow current manager Pedro Caixinha speak to the Glasgow club, finalising terms which will see the Portuguese become the latest man at Ibrox to try and challenge Celtic's dominance. Sky are reporting that terms have now been agreed, and Caixinha is expected to be formally announced within the next 24 hours.
Caixinha had an unremarkable playing career, he began management in his twenties. He spent a number of years working as an assistant manager, with clubs as varied as Sporting, Al-Hilal, Panathinaikos Rapid Bucharest and the Saudi national side, before going it alone with Uniao Leiria, before moving onto another side in Portugal: Nacional. A difficult spell there presaged a move to Mexico, to take over at Santos Laguna, with whom he won three trophies and reached the final of CONCAF's Champions League. He left in 2015 to join Al-Gharafa, with whom he has been with since.
While in Mexico, Caixinha, presumably assuming he would never end up managing Rangers, decided to send a message of congratuations to Celtic, congratulating them on their recent Scottish league victory.
You can watch that below:
A touching message from our Celtic Brother Pedro Caixinha in 2015. ? pic.twitter.com/9TNCFgjr93
— A Grand Auld Team (@FritzAGrandAuld) March 9, 2017
It's explainable, however. Celtic have struck an official partnership with Santos Laguna, which began back in 2010.
