Sadiq Umar has slammed Rangers boss Steven Gerrard and the Light Blues for poor treatment during his time with the side.

The 22-year-old moved to the Scottish Premiership outfit on a season-long loan deal from Italian Serie A side AS Roma last summer.

The forward endured a torrid time with the Ibrox Stadium outfit as he was limited to 16 appearances in all competitions, starting only one game [in the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen] and after six-month stay, his contract was cut short.

The youngster who has since joined Itaian Serie B side Perugia on another loan, explained that he was ‘humiliated’ by the Light Blues, fined €23386.71 for ‘liking’ a social media post, and the club failed to pay him his December salary while expressing his displeasure with the attitude of the Liverpool legend.

“Gerrard proved to be very different from what I believed he would be,” Umar told Sunday Post.

“At the beginning, I didn’t know anything about the Rangers move. The negotiations were all between Roma and my representatives.

“And when my agent told me about it, I expressed my doubts. Then it was Steven Gerrard himself who convinced me. He phoned me three or four times, complimenting me and saying he’d back me to be a success.

“But when I arrived, I didn’t even have any time to settle down before they brought in another striker, Kyle Lafferty. That was when the problems started, and my situation soon degenerated into a real nightmare.”

“All of a sudden, I was told that I could not use the first-team dressing-room any more. Instead I had to go change with the kids. Then, after a few days, I was also forbidden to park my car inside the training centre.

“I felt humiliated and kept asking what was the reason for the change of attitude. But I never received any answers.

“Gerrard wouldn’t give any explanation about it, neither to me nor my representatives. How he will do long-term as a manager, I do not know. That is his business and I have my own career to think about. I believe absolutely that I was not given a fair chance to show what I can do. They made me feel like a stranger.

“I started only once [in the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen] and that was when there were no other strikers available.

“Once I put a ‘like’ on Instagram to a post from a fan – and I was fined 9 Million Naiara, which was absurd. And Rangers didn’t even pay me up everything I was due. They still have to give me my salary for December.

“As long as I was a Rangers player, I behaved like a professional, giving everything I could of myself to the shirt. In my opinion, they behaved in a disrespectful way to me, both as a player and as a person.”

However, the former Bologna man praised striker Alfredo Morelos who behaved well with him during his stay at Rangers.