Rangers sign Turkish left back Ridvan Yilmaz

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Rangers signed Turkish left back Ridvan Yilmaz, the Scottish football club confirmed on Monday.

"Rangers Football Club are today delighted to announce the signing of Turkish international Ridvan Yilmaz on a five-year deal from Besiktas," the Glasgow-based club said in a statement.

His previous club Besiktas said on Borsa Istanbul that Yilmaz was sold to Rangers for €4 million (nearly $4.09 million) that will be paid initially for the Turkish club. In addition, Besiktas said that an extra and a future €2.25-million fee ($2.3 million) would be paid but this fee "depends on a condition."

It added that Besiktas will get %20 of his next transfer fee if Rangers sell Yilmaz to another club or loan him out during five years.

Yilmaz, 21, who is a pure Besiktas product, helped the senior team win the 2021 Turkish Super Lig title and the Turkish Cup in the same season.

The Turkish international amassed 62 appearances, scoring four goals to go along with seven assists for Besiktas.

Yilmaz, who mainly plays as an attacking full back, said that he is "delighted" to be a Rangers player, and adding that he cannot wait to play in front of the Scottish fans at the Ibrox Stadium.

In addition, Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst praised Yilmaz's abilities.

"I am really pleased to have added Ridvan to our squad and I believe he will bring a lot of quality to the club.

"I have been really impressed with his development in a really demanding, winning environment at Besiktas over the last few seasons," van Bronckhorst said.

In 2021 summer, Yilmaz was called for the Turkish national team's UEFA EURO 2020 squad but he did not play in the tournament.

Yilmaz is the second Turkish player in Rangers' history as Tugay Kerimoglu, who is a former Galatasaray and Türkiye midfielder, played for the Scottish club in 2000-2001.