Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein admits he tried to get Rangers and Celtic into Premier League
In role as FA vice-chairman, Dein pushed for admission of Scottish giants but he says the opportunity has now gone
DAVID DEIN says he tried to get Rangers and Celtic admitted to the Premier League while he was FA vice-chairman.
The man who held the same position at Arsenal between 1983 and 2007 said the plan fell through due to the amount of clubs worried about losing their place in England's top flight.
Dein, who is now a Premier League ambassador, said: “I once tried to promote Celtic and Rangers coming to the Premier League."
But he now believes that it would be impossible to get clubs to support the idea.
"I can’t see it happening because of the fear factor of clubs worrying about them coming to take their place.”
In his 24 year spell as vice-chairman, Dein led Arsenal to unprecedented success, taking responsibility appointing Arsene Wenger as manager and the club's move to the Emirates Stadium.
However the Old Firm's fortunes have suffered so much that they must wonder what might have been if they had been allowed to move into English football.
Before the arrival of Brendan Rodgers in the summer, the Hoops qualified for the Champions League just twice in seven seasons despite winning five Scottish titles in a row.
As well as being a heroic performance from Celtic, the 3-3 draw against Man City at Parkhead was a reminder of how much things have changed.
If the clubs had met ten years ago, the Scottish side would have been overwhelming favourites and the two squads would have likely been around the same value.
This summer however, Pep Guardiola's side were able to spend a combined £180m on players while Celtic spent just £5m.
And on the other side of Glasgow, Celtic's mediocrity is something Rangers have only been able to dream of since being liquidated in 2012.
After starting again in the 4th tier of Scottish football, the Gers finally returned to the top flight with promotion last season.
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