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Lorenzo Amoruso has revealed he couldn’t stop crying after learning that his Treble clinching goal at Hampden would be his final appearance for Rangers – because he wanted to finish his career at Ibrox.

The former Light Blues skipper – a £4m signing from Italian side Fiorentina in 1997 – lifted NINE major honours across a hugely successful six-year spell in Glasgow, which included two domestic Trebles and three league titles.

Amoruso quickly established himself as an iconic figure among the Gers fanbase due to his commitment to the club and no-nonsense approach. And the centre-half had his heart set on seeing out the remainder of his playing career in Govan.

However, that dream failed to materialise after he was left with no choice but to head for pastures new due to the club’s shoddy financial situation in 2003.

As it turned out, just a few weeks after heading home the winner in the Scottish Cup final against Dundee, Amoruso had his bags packed after agreeing to join Graeme Souness’ Blackburn Rovers for £1.4m.

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His departure was forced by Rangers’ mounting debts and he went on to spend three injury-plagued seasons at Ewood Park before hanging up his boots.

Now speaking in detail about the situation for the first time, Amoruso admitted he was left bawling his eyes out in Mount Florida knowing it was his farewell appearance in a Rangers shirt.

Lorenzo Amoruso details why Rangers exit was taken out of his hands

“It was very emotional and personal,” he admitted on the BBC Saturday Show. “In my heart, it’ll never go away. There was a financial problem at the time for Rangers. A month before Alex McLeish came to my house after training.

“He said to me, ‘Lorenzo, I have to talk to you face to face.’ There was rumours about because Rangers couldn’t get in a good situation financial wise, plus there were rumours about some players who should have been sold. But I never thought I was one of them. Don’t get me wrong, everyone can be sold.

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“But Alex came over and said, ‘Lorenzo, look at me as an older brother at the moment, not as your manager. We cannot really afford you anymore.’ I had one year left on my contract and of course, normally when you have one year left, clubs are trying to make a new contract with you to avoid letting you go for free.

“Alex said, ‘The club cannot afford you anymore. If you go away, the club will probably get good money. But at this moment, think about your career. I’d like to keep you here but I can’t offer you a new contract. We know you’ve got another year left, if you want to stay I will be happy about that. But if you get the chance to go away, it probably will be your last best contract as a professional player. Take the chance and think about your own career.’

“I said, ‘Gaffer, we’re fighting for the Scottish Cup and League. I don’t really want to think about that now. I’ll just concentrate on my job until the end of the season and eventually when I go back home, I’ll take a few days off and think in a better way without any pressure.’

“So that game against Dundee was a sign from someone up there. I was the man of the match, goal scorer, a second Treble… I think sometimes when things happen, there’s always a reason why.

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Amoruso: ‘I felt so weak’ after learning Rangers future fate

”Nothing was done at that time,” Amoruso added. “I wasn’t even talking to Souness or Tugay because it was Tugay who really brought me down there in Blackburn. While we were celebrating, we saw Arthur Numan who announced his retirement that day as well. And I felt so weak. I felt so strange that I started to cry because I knew that could be my last game for Rangers.

“In my heart, it was my idea to finish my career at Rangers. But I said to myself, this is the way that I would say goodbye to everyone, especially the support who have supported me the whole six years. This is the day, because when you finish that way, that’s something that people will never forget and it’s the best way to thank you very much for everyone for what they gave for me.

“That was the reason why. The situation at the club was very bad and that’s why after I left I went to Blackburn.”