Ball gets all-clear to stay at Rangers

MICHAEL Ball has been cleared to resume his Rangers career after the Ibrox club reached a compromise agreement with Everton.

The left-back’s future was in the balance as he neared the 60-appearance mark that would trigger an extra 500,000 payment to the English club. Rangers were unwilling to pay that amount and as a consequence Ball has been excluded from the team for much of the season. However, a solution has been reached and manager Alex McLeish will now be able to play the England international when he so wishes.

Ball thanked both clubs for "working together to sort out this situation," though it is understood the player himself was also involved in the negotiations.

"I would like to thank both Rangers and Everton for working together to sort out this situation which has now all been agreed," Ball told the official Rangers website. "I would like to confirm that I will be giving 100 per cent to Rangers Football Club and the focus is to get back into the first team."

Ball, 25, appeared to have made his last appearance for the Ibrox club in the UEFA Cup defeat by AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands earlier this month. It was only his fourth appearance of the season, but one more would have led to a financial windfall for Everton under the terms of the convoluted transfer negotiated by the Premiership side and Rangers.

The defender was signed by former manager Dick Advocaat in August 2001 in a deal which could have been worth as much as 6.5million to Everton in staged payments. Around 4million has already been paid, but after revealing massive debts in recent years, Rangers were reluctant to keep playing Ball in a bid to stave off the next payment.

Neither club would reveal the nature of yesterday’s compromise agreement, but it is assumed Everton received some sort of financial recompense.

Keith Wyness, the Everton chief executive, said: "It was reached very amicably. Both clubs are very happy."

Ball was considered to be a rising talent in the game when he joined Rangers, but a variety of injury problems limited his appearances. He has one England cap, earned in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s first match in charge - a friendly against Spain at Villa Park in February 2001.

McLeish revealed in October that Rangers had been trying to agree a new settlement with Everton. However, negotiations appeared to have stalled on 24 October when McLeish branded Wyness "stubborn" over his negotiations.

Rangers’ financial problems have been eased following a rights issue initiative by chairman David Murray, which raised over 51million - largely through the chairman’s own company. The club’s debt could be further eradicated if the protracted haggling over Jean-Alain Boumsong ends with the defender leaving Ibrox for Newcastle United. Graeme Souness’s club are willing to pay around 8million for the French international, but that figure could fall if a deal can be struck involving cash plus players.

McLeish travelled to Newcastle on Wednesday to watch the game with Arsenal at St James’ Park and it has been suggested that he was there to look at some of Souness’s players.