Barry Ferguson Bio Send To Friend  

The controversial midfielder signed for Birmingham in the summer of 2009 after being stripped of the Scotland and Rangers' captaincy following a late night drinking session while on international duty.

Ferguson was caught on camera making unsubtle V-signs when on the bench for the game against Iceland the following day and his position at both club and country became untenable.

He began his career at Rangers, being promoted to the first-team squad for the 1994-95 season but only became a regular fixture in the first team during the 1998-99 season under new manager Dick Advocaat.

In October 1999 he given an extended six-year deal at Rangers and was named the Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for the 99-00 season.

Ferguson became the Rangers captain and he guided his team to a League Cup and Scottish Cup double the following season, under manager Alex McLeish who replaced Advocaat in December 2001. The next year, he captained the side to a domestic treble. After an impressive haul of eighteen goals from midfield he also won Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year.

In August 2003, Ferguson joined Premier League club Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £7.5m. Manager Graeme Souness made Ferguson captain, but after just 16 months at the club, including a lengthy period out through injury, he moved back to Ibrox for £4.5m.

Ferguson played in the 2005 Scottish League Cup Final and was part of the Rangers team that won the league on the last day of the season and formed a key part of the side's push for honours across all fronts.

But under Paul Le Guen, Ferguson was stripped of the Rangers captaincy and dropped as his personality clashed with the Frenchman. Following the resignation of Le Guen as manager in January, Ferguson was re-instated to the Rangers side.

With Le Guen gone, Ferguson got back to his old self and he made his 400th appearance for Rangers in the UEFA Cup Final against Zenit St Petersburg in May 2008.

However, even with Walter Smith back at the club, the midfielder still found himself in trouble after an extended drinking session with Rangers and Scotland team mate Allan McGregor. He was stripped of the captain's arm band for both club and country and soon moved on after winning his fifth SPL title.

In July 2009, it was confirmed that Ferguson had completed a move to Birmingham City, on a three year contract for a fee of £1m, where he would join up with former boss Alex McLeish and test himself in England again.