Glasgow Rangers have had success with player trading in recent seasons as they have brought in young talent and sold them on for profit further down the line.
Nathan Patterson came through the academy before his move to Everton and Joe Aribo arrived from League One Charlton and was eventually sold to Premier League side Southampton.
The best example in recent years, however, has been Calvin Bassey as the versatile defender arrived on a free transfer from Leicester City before being sold to Dutch giants Ajax for a club-record fee in the summer of 2022.
Sky Sports reported that it was a deal that could rise to £23m – making it the biggest fee received in Rangers history. Yet, if you adjust for football inflation, it is not the biggest sale the club have ever made, as they raked in a huge fee for Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the 2000s.
How much Rangers paid for Giovanni van Bronckhorst
The Light Blues reportedly splashed out a fee of £5m to sign the versatile midfield star from Dutch side Feyenoord ahead of the 1998/99 campaign.
Van Bronckhorst hit the ground running in Scotland with a fantastic return of eight goals and eight assists in 35 Scottish Premiership matches in his debut season.
The terrific Dutchman, who could play at left-back, in holding midfield, or in central midfield, went on to rack up 21 goals and ten assists in 107 appearances for the Glasgow giants in all competitions.
His superb form for Rangers across his three years in Scottish football convinced English and Premier League giants Arsenal to swoop in for his signature in the summer of 2001.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's transfer value in 2024 money
As per the Totally Money index, the Gunners paid an initial fee of £12.15m at the time to take him to London, which represented more than £7m in actual profit for the Gers, who had paid £5m to Feyenoord to sign him three years earlier.
However, in 2024 money – which Totally Money has adjusted for footballing inflation through the years – it's suggested that fee of £12.15m would now be worth a staggering £27.4m, which is more than £3m more than the deal Ajax agreed with the Light Blues to snap up Bassey in 2022.
This shows that Rangers struck gold with the signing of van Bronckhorst from Feyenoord in 1998 as they went on to make a staggering profit on the left-footed powerhouse, whose move to Arsenal was for a significant fee that would have been a club-record fee in 2024 money.
Rangers
Arsenal
2001
£12.15m (£27.4m in 2024 money)
Arsenal
Barcelona
2004
Free
Barcelona
Feyenoord
2007
Free
Feyenoord
Retired
2010
N/A
As you can see in the table above, the Netherlands international, who – of course – went on to manage at Ibrox, was never sold for more than Rangers raked in for his services as Arsenal and Barcelona both allowed him to leave on a free transfer after three years with each club respectively.
Therefore, the Scottish giants seemingly maximised his value when they decided to sell him in the summer of 2001, which further illustrates how much of a blinder the Light Blues played with his sale.