Cuellar was in Seville in 2022 and now he's targeting a Bilbao final in 2025
Sport Scott McDermott 22:30, 05 Apr 2025
Carlos Cuellar says foreign players think they know how huge a club Rangers is from afar.
But the Spaniard is adamant that it’s only once you play for them you realise it’s 100 TIMES bigger.
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The 43-year-old, who is now retired and coaching Real Murcia’s B team, only spent one season at Ibrox.
In 2007/08, he was an integral part of Walter Smith’s side who won the League Cup, Scottish Cup and reached the UEFA Cup Final in Manchester.
Cuellar was Scotland’s Player of the Year and earned a £9million move to Premier League side Aston Villa after just 12 months.
But he wishes he’d have been at Rangers for a longer period of time.
He’s revealed the club still have a special place in his heart – and one day he’d love to return to Ibrox as a coach.
Cuellar was convinced he knew how big Gers were when he joined.
But after pulling on the blue shirt for just one campaign – the stature of the club left an indelible mark on him.
In an exclusive interview with Record Sport , he said: “I took Rangers as a club to my heart.
“Even now, I try to watch all of the games. I follow all the results and watch the European matches on TV.
“For me, Rangers are one of my clubs. I felt it straight away when I arrived. And my dream is to go back one day. My time there was amazing.
“The first time I stepped into Ibrox, I knew this was a big club and all about the history. But you don’t realise HOW big it is, until you leave there.
“Everyone thinks they know about Rangers from the outside. But when you’re inside?
“It feels 100 times bigger than you expect.
“It was the best season of my career there, in terms of my professional and personal life experience. We were like a family. No-one was selfish for the benefit of one or two players.
“We were all going in one direction.
“That’s what made us so difficult to beat and what helped us get two trophies and reach the UEFA Cup Final.
“We needed a different team for the league and in Europe. But everyone understood their roles – we just all wanted to win.”
Cuellar can’t wait to see how Rangers get on this week in their Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie against Athletic Bilbao at Ibrox.
Barry Ferguson – Cuellar’s old captain – is now in interim charge with a chance of reaching the last four.
The former centre-back was in Seville three years ago when Rangers lost the final to Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties. And he’d love to see them get another crack at it this season – with Bilbao hosting the final.
Cuellar said: “I was in Seville for the Europa Final in 2022 and of course I’d love to be in Bilbao seeing Rangers in another one. Unfortunately, from where I live in Murcia, it’s very far away! But I would do everything to be there.
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“It was heartbreaking in Seville because we were so close. The difference wasn’t that big in the final, it was so tight.
“I thought that would be Rangers’ year. Some of the football to get there was unbelievable – I really liked that team.”
