Donald Trump's plan to take over Rangers and return Scottish giants to former glory

Donald Trump once seriously considered buying but backed out of a deal because of the club's dire financial situation. In 2012, the giants found themselves in desperate need of a buyer due to their ongoing crisis.

With Rangers falling into administration, liquidation and plummeting to the fourth tier, the club became the subject of speculation, while various famous names linked with a potential takeover. Among them was none other than .

Trump today stormed to a second term in office with . Both his and Rangers' fortunes could have turned out very differently had his interest materialised.

Trump certainly had Scottish connections already, with his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, having been born in Ross-shire, located in the Scottish highlands. During the same period in 2012, the business tycoon was also busy trying to launch his first golf course near Aberdeen.

Trump had a small amount of experience in sports ventures. He had a brief spell running American football franchise the New Jersey Generals, who played in the short-lived US Football League in the mid-1980s.

The 78-year-old took a "serious" look at Rangers' situation with the aim of bailing out the club. Given his penchant for attaching his surname to his businesses, it's not beyond the realms of plausibility that Rangers' home could have been renamed, perhaps to the 'Trump Ibrox'.

Yet even with his vast wealth and links to the country, Rangers' dire financial situation was too much to ignore. A source close to the President-elect told the Press and Journal at the time: "We looked seriously and walked away. It just did not make sense to us, although they are a great club. We hope someone steps in and builds the team again."

In 2015, ahead of his campaign trail before his first term as US president, reports claimed that Trump was weighing up a takeover of Colombian football giants Atletico Nacional, notorious for their historic ties with drug lord Pablo Escobar. However, Trump's interest evaporated as he instead focused on his controversial journey to becoming president.

With the success of his recent presidential campaign, Trump is unlikely to be paying much attention to Rangers' ongoing hardships, with the club operating without a permanent chairman, chief executive and a 'head of football operations'. It was revealed recently that they made a staggering net loss of £17.2million ($22.1m) last season.