Alex Rae, former Rangers team-mate of Ricksen, told the Press Association: "The year we won the league he came into the midfield to partner up with me. It was a great season and he played such a big part.

"He was the ideal guy to have alongside you in the middle of the park. He was tenacious, energetic, technically good - but most importantly he was a leader.

"Off the field he was just a larger-than-life character. He was brilliant to be about.

"There would be some mornings where I'd be in the breakfast hall at Murray Park just trying to get a moment to myself before training.

"But then Fernando would burst in and start scudding you with toast and hitting you with newspapers.

"He was a nuisance in training, too. We'd be trying to do passing drills and he'd be flying in with slidies. You'd want to slap him at times, but you'd always end up laughing.

"That was just his nature. A brilliant, brilliant person. Those are the memories I'll try to remember."