Rangers loan star Jose Cifuentes in Cruzeiro limbo as Brazil boss reveals red tape issue is preventing him from playing
RANGERS loan midfielder Jose Cifuentes has seen his move to Cruzeiro strangled in red tape with his new Brazilian club unsure of when he will be allowed to play for them.
The flop Ecuadorian midfielder completed his loan move back to South America last week and he was expected to immediately feature in Cruzeiro's match against America MG this week.
But he was nowhere to be seen and manager Nicolas Larcamon revealed there was an issue in his registration that currently prevents him from playing.
He said: "Jose Cifuentes still has bureaucratic issues.
"We do not know when he will be able to play for the club, but we are obviously working as hard as possible to resolve this. The sooner he can play for us, the better."
Cifuentes is believed to have to sort out documentation for a work permit to make it possible for an Ecuadorian to play in Brazil and the hold-up is not from his time at Rangers.
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He made just six league starts for the Ibrox side and was sent off in his last Scottish Premiership game against Dundee in December before being frozen out by manager Philippe Clement and allowed to leave without too much fuss.
Meanwhile, the Cruzeiro boss is confident the loan star will sign permanently in the summer.
Speaking earlier this month, he said: "The deal is complete. We have an option to purchase Jose Cifuentes at the end of his loan and I am sure that will happen.
"He is a very complete player and will bring significant benefits to the team.
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"Jose has many qualities to his game. He is very comfortable on the ball and he will bring aggression to the team too. He will help our midfield a lot.
"He will be an excellent addition to the squad and we hope to have him in the team as soon as possible."
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