Businessman Murray, 56, said he pulled out of the deal at the last minute because of doubts over the buyers' plans for the team.

Two months of secret negotiations came to an end at a London hotel when the chairman changed his mind about the sale.

He told Scotland on Sunday: "Everything was pretty much agreed and then I said, 'Look gentlemen, before we do this, can you tell me how you're going to run this club?'

"I'm sitting there with all the legal documents in front of me and they outline their plans.

"'We'll carve this up, and we'll sell that off', and after a while I said 'Enough, we're not doing the deal.'

"We got up and walked out. We took our papers and went out of the door. It wasn't for Rangers."

Mr Murray bought Rangers in 1988 and has invested millions in the club.

The founder of the Murray Group, whose activities include property and leisure, saw the team win nine league championships in a row between 1989 and 1997.

There has been speculation as far back as 2006 that Murray was looking to exit the club.

A 2-0 victory against Hearts yesterday gave a positive end to a difficult week for Rangers in the wake of Carlos Cuellar's departure to Aston Villa.

The club are still reeling from their exit from Europe, following their defeat in Champions League qualifying against Lithuanian side FB Kaunas.