Danilo exits Rangers for Botafogo on loan with sale likely
Rangers have confirmed Brazilian striker Danilo has joined Botafogo on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy. The 27-year-old, out of favour under Derek McInnes after a Nijmegen loan last season, leaves Ibrox after 16 goals in 77 games. Fans tracking rangers game today squad news should note he is no longer in the Light Blues picture.
Key Takeaways
- Danilo has left Rangers for Brazilian club Botafogo on a year-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy.
- The 27-year-old scored 16 goals in 77 appearances for Rangers after joining from the Netherlands in 2023.
- He was out of Danny Rohl's plans late last season and is also surplus under new manager Derek McInnes.
- Former teammates Leon Balogun and Todd Cantwell posted farewell messages backing his move.
- A permanent sale can be triggered if appearance conditions in the loan deal are met.
Why did Danilo leave Rangers for Botafogo?
According to BBC Sport, Danilo has returned to Brazil to join top-flight Botafogo after falling out of the first-team picture at Ibrox. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Nijmegen and was not in previous head coach Danny Rohl's plans.
New manager Derek McInnes has continued the squad overhaul, and the forward was also out of the picture under the new regime. Rangers confirmed the move as a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy, wishing him well for his return to Brazil.
Botafogo currently sit ninth of 20 clubs in the 2026 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A after 19 games. For readers following transfer buzz alongside Bizarre News & Florida Man headlines, this is a clean exit for a striker who never fully settled in Glasgow.
What does the loan with a sale clause mean?
Rangers describe the deal as a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy. Reporting around the announcement says the move hinges on a set number of appearances; if that threshold is hit, Danilo would join Botafogo permanently.
The Brazilian still had two years left on his Rangers contract when the loan was finalised. That structure gives Botafogo time to assess him while offering Rangers a path to a permanent sale rather than keeping an unused forward on the books.
Danilo joined Rangers in the summer of 2023 and scored on his second league appearance in a 4-0 win over Livingston. He helped the side lift the Scottish League Cup later that year, but an injury-hit start and limited finishing returns defined much of his Ibrox spell.
How have teammates reacted, and what is his Rangers record?
Overall he scored 16 times in 77 games for the Glasgow club, with more than half of those appearances coming off the bench. He found the net just once in 12 outings on loan at Nijmegen after scoring four in 28 Rangers appearances in the first half of last season.
Before Scotland, Danilo won two Dutch titles and a Dutch Cup across spells with Ajax and Feyenoord. Botafogo highlighted that pedigree as he returns home aged 27.
Former Rangers teammates Leon Balogun and Todd Cantwell reacted on Danilo's Instagram after the official announcement. Balogun wrote "Let's go, brother," while Cantwell simply posted "Let's go," according to Rangers News coverage of the farewell messages.
For supporters still asking about rangers game today selections after another summer exit, the message from Ibrox is clear: Danilo's future is in Rio, and a permanent Botafogo move is the likely endgame if the loan conditions are met.