Cyriel Dessers gets honest on Rangers rise as he makes talent confession

Striker Cyriel Dessers has admitted he was not regarded as a “big talent” during his rise to success – but is now determined to build something “beautiful” with Rangers.

The frontman came in for stick from the Ibrox support during Michael Beale’s reign following his £4.5million summer move from Serie A side Cremonese – but has silenced some of his cynics under Philippe Clement after the Belgian helped him kickstart his Scottish Premiership career. The Belgian-born Nigeria international has become a key player for Rangers – netting six goals since the end of the winter break and firing the Light Blues to the top of the table.

And speaking to UEFA about his career, the 29-year-old admitted he is used to proving the doubters wrong. Before being snapped up by Feyenoord in 2021, the forward had spent the majority of his career in Belgium and the Dutch lower leagues.

In an open interview, Dessers stated: “I was never regarded as a big, big talent. This path has made me stronger and who I am now.”

He then admitted he was desperate to make the move to Rangers. Dessers said: ”I was incredibly happy to sign here. With the incentive to build something beautiful.

“It was a really difficult start for us this season but you see that we turned it around the last months. Then you can see when this club is in full force then you really realise how big Rangers is and it’s massive. It’s unbelievable.”

Having played a key part in helping Rangers top their Europa League group, he is looking for more success when they face Benfica on Thursday night. Dessers showed his European pedigree while on the books at Feyenoord – netting twice against Marseille to send the Dutch side to the Conference League final.

He describes the double during the first leg of the semi-final as his career highlight: “In hindsight those were the goals that got us to the final so this was probably the most beautiful game of my career until now. There are so many good football players in the world but how many of them can say ‘I played in a European Final?’