Cuellar quits Rangers to join Villa in £7.8m deal

RANGERS have agreed to sell Carlos Cuellar to Aston Villa after the defender asked for a €10 million (£7.8m) clause in his contract to be invoked that allows him to leave Ibrox.

The Spaniard and his representative made the request on Sunday, according to a statement on the Rangers website. The Ibrox club tried to keep the defender with the offer of a longer-term deal on a "substantial" increase in wages. But Cuellar declined, insisting his desire was to play in the English Premier League.

Cuellar, last year's Scottish Football Writers' player of the year, will become an Aston Villa player on completion of a medical today, when he will link up with former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill.

"I came to Rangers due to the professional manner of their officials and management and their promise of success," said Cuellar, who will be 27 next week. "Everything I had been told about this fantastic club has been true and last year's Uefa Cup run is something I will never forget.

"My ambition has always been to play for my national team and I believe playing in the biggest league in the world for Aston Villa will help me realise that.

"When I told Martin Bain on Sunday that I wanted to leave, I did so with sadness. The Rangers supporters have been fantastic to me, but I am young and want to play at the highest level and I hope they will always welcome me back."

The move comes in the wake of Rangers' failure to qualify for the lucrative stages of the Champions League – and a potential £10 million windfall – having last week lost to Lithuanian side Kaunas in the second qualifying round.

Rangers manager Walter Smith insists that he will use the fee to strengthen his squad. "This has come as a surprise and I am disappointed," said Smith. "Carlos Cuellar has been a great player for the club and inevitably there has been speculation about him playing in the Premiership.

"The club has received a substantial uplift in fee and we will now reinvest in the team."