Robbie Ure has said his dream £7.6million move to Sevilla justifies his decision to leave Rangers and Scotland three years ago. The striker was unveiled by the La Liga giants on a five-year deal on Tuesday after a sensational season with Sirius in the Swedish Allsvenskan saw him hit 20 goals in 20 appearances in all competitions.
Move to Spain
Former Rangers academy product Ure is preparing to make his debut in Saturday’s league opener against Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. The 22-year-old insists it’s justification of his brave decision to turn down a new deal at Ibrox in 2023 to follow his dream.
Ure, who made three top team appearances for his boyhood club before moving to Anderlecht and then Sirius, said: "If you were to tell me that I would be a Sevilla player four years ago, then I would have been so happy."
Decision Justified
"It was a big decision at the time. And for me to be sitting here, a player of Sevilla tells me that this was the correct decision to make. And yeah, I'm very happy that I made this decision," he added. "I think a lot of Scottish people like to stay in Scotland but I wanted to test myself as a player and also a person."
"I think I have grown in both. I have became normal to all the cultures in these countries. And I now don't think of these things as too challenging to move country, to change my lifestyle. I think it's normal in football. And it can be exciting."
Swedish Success
"The plan was when I went to Sweden that I would come to a top five league. But, as we said, when I heard of the interest from Seville, it was something I didn't think of for a long time because I knew I wanted to be here. It's such a big club and, yeah, I'm so happy to be here," Ure said.
The 6ft 2in hitman has taken the Swedish league by storm this season and netted 31 goals in 50 appearances for Sirius across the past two years. He said: "I think I became more confident this season, more belief that when I have this chance that I can take this chance."
"I think scoring goals comes down to being cool in the mind and slowing everything down and really just thinking about you and the ball. And this season I've been doing that really well. My head has been really calm in these situations. So yeah, I hope I can continue."
La Liga Ambitions
"I think all of my game can improve. I want to improve everything. I think I can score more goals with my head. I think this season I only scored one goal with my head. So of course I can score more. But I don't focus on one thing. I think I can improve on everything and become better," he said.
Sevilla agreed an initial £5.5m deal that will rise to around £7.6m with add ons for Ure’s signature. The former Scotland U19 international - who also qualifies to play for Ukraine - is now looking to make his mark in the Spanish top flight.
He said: "The chance to play for a very big club, a club that comes with a lot of pressure every game to play in a La Liga is a great step for me and to take my career to the next level. I want to be in top class environments, some of the best and I feel like here is the place to be for me."
"What excites me is to play in front of the supporters. I've been to the stadium and I've seen it. I think it's a beautiful stadium. I want to help the team. That's my only priority for this season. I want to help the team wherever I can. Hopefully that's scoring goals, but my priority is to help the team."
