The former Rangers chief executive, Charles Green, has already sold the naming rights to Ibrox, according to club director Sandy Easdale. He claims Green struck a deal with the Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley, who is listed on the Rangers plc website as owning 4.56% of shares.

In an interview with the Daily Record, Easdale would not reveal how much the deal was worth for confidentiality reasons. But the newspaper claims the deal was struck for £1 with Rangers then spending £250,000 on legal fees in a failed bid to get the contract torn up.

Easdale said: “Let’s clear this up, the Sports Direct Arena. Charles Green had already done a deal with Mike on that. Sports Direct haven’t taken it up as yet. Mike Ashley could call it the Sports Direct Arena tomorrow.”

Green revealed in an interview with STV in March 2013 that he was close to agreeing a deal with Sports Direct, but he left his role as chief executive six weeks later and no agreement was ever announced.

Ashley has been asked to back a £4m share issue that was announced last week but his ownership of Newcastle is creating a problem, and Easdale believes his extra involvement would be beneficial to the club as they bid to stave off a cash crisis.

Easdale said: “I’m pro Mike Ashley to the extent he is probably the guy who can help us at this moment in time. His plan was to increase his shareholding but he’s come across a stumbling block with the SFA. It’s up to him now to sort that out. But if he was allowed to increase his shareholding then who wouldn’t want a billionaire investing in their club?”

Easdale said he was not opposed to working with the former oldco Rangers director Dave King, who claims to be willing to invest £30m in the club under the right conditions, but claimed that the South Africa-based businessman had never made them an offer.