From leaving Rangers to La Liga - Scotland is next step for Ure

Robbie Ure played in Belgium and Sweden before his move to Spain

• Published12 minutes ago

Robbie Ure, cool and confident and 22 years old, played 90 minutes for Sevilla against Barcelona at the weekend, 90 minutes of being marked by Pau Cubarsi, man of the match in the World Cup final, 90 minutes of pitch-time with Rodri, player of the tournament, 90 minutes of breathing the same rarefied air as Lamine Yamal.

Ure is a part of a new-ish wave of Scotland striker, uncapped but hopeful of making a debut on Saturday away to Slovenia in the Nations League.

There is no Lyndon Dykes in Sebastien Pocognoli's squad and no George Hirst. Injury has ruled out Che Adams, Lawrence Shankland and Ross Stewart. Those five were all at the World Cup in the United States during the summer.

Now, it's Ure and James Wilson of Hearts and Kieron Bowie of Sassuolo, each with two caps, and Oli McBurnie of Hull, with the last of his 16 international appearances coming five years ago.

There is an intriguing freshness to this and nowhere is that buzz more obvious than in the story of Ure, the boy who wanted to play for Rangers but couldn't force his way in, the young man who in his seven games for Sevilla since his move from IK Sirius in Sweden has already played against 12 of Spain's World Cup winning squad.

Just over three years ago, Ure left Rangers as a teenager, his last forays with the senior team being one minute against St Mirren in November 2022 and another minute against Hibs in May 2023.

Nations League: Slovenia v Scotland

26/9/26

He is the poster boy in the Scottish FA's campaign to persuade clubs to give youth more of a chance. Ure wasn't given that opportunity in Glasgow and left for Anderlecht, then IK Sirius and now Sevilla, who paid £5.5m for him, plus another £2.5m in add-ons.

He calls the past few months "busy" which is an understatement. He's operating at a different level now. Sevilla lost that Barcelona game 3-1 - he has yet to score for his new club - but this is an education he's receiving, a critical part of his development.

"The first half, we were good," he says. "But as the game goes on, they wear you down. Raphinha at the moment. I mean…"

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'I wasn't good enough for Rangers' - Ure

There's a knowing smile there, an indication of the kind of class he is now witnessing. "I really enjoyed it," he adds. "But against these players, you give them one chance and most of the time it's a goal. For me, it was a really good experience. I'm only going to get better as a result of it."

Ure is a Rangers boy - one that got away. Was it difficult having to leave? "Yeah, it was," he explains. "All I'd ever known was Rangers. Going in every single day since I was probably eight years old but it was something that I felt I had to do.

"I felt like I wasn't good enough to play for Rangers at the time, which is normal for many 18-year-olds. It was nothing that affected my confidence. I would have loved to have stayed but I knew myself that I wasn't going to play, which I accepted.

"At a club like Rangers, it's difficult for any 18-year-old to play. I needed a change of scenery and a fresh start, somewhere that I could go to play at a level that would be good enough for me at the time. Anderlecht provided that."

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Belgium was the first step on his road to the Scotland team but Sweden was when it all started to happen. In 2025-26, he scored 11 goals in 30 games, a mere warm-up for what was to follow.

Between April and July this year, Ure played 14 games for IK Sirius and scored 15 goals, including four in one game against Mjallby.

"I was scoring near enough every game, so that was probably the happiest I've been," he says. "Every week I was scoring and we were top of the league. I was improving and that interest in me was getting bigger and bigger.

"At a young age it's really important you're playing. I was playing 90 minutes every week, getting trust from the manager and from the club. I was given time as well. The day I scored the four goals, it was my first hat-trick. I felt like every time I shot it was going to be a goal. I've not had a feeling like that before in football. It was pretty special."

Player pathway is a hot topic in Scottish football and Ure is an example of what can happen when a kid is given a proper chance.

"Everyone's different," he says. "You have to give players patience and give them time to develop but the way to do that is, of course, playing minutes at a level where you can develop at. I couldn't find that level in Scotland, so I had to look elsewhere and I'm happy that I did that."

The level he has found in Spain is stratospheric. No goals yet, but it's a savagely tough school.

He will have his moment under Pocognoli in the coming weeks. Four games in quick succession - he will get his first cap and his first chance to shine on another stage. And he's earned it.

Related topics

• Scotland Men's Football Team
• Football
• Sevilla