AFPThe tiny but symbolic stake stemmed from support offered by the Glasgow club to Arsenal when they fell on hard times early in the 20th century.
Rangers purchased two shares in Woolwich Arsenal, as the club were known then, to assist the London club in 1910. Around 20 years later Arsenal recognised the kindness of the Glasgow giants by giving them a further 14 shares, establishing a close relationship between the two clubs.
Rangers are now facing their own financial crisis, having gone into administration last week over unpaid taxes and with a potentially ruinous second tax bill hanging over them.
Usmanov bought the 16 shares last year through the market, a source close to the businessman said on Wednesday. The Daily Record report that the deal was worth around £230,000.
Rangers legend John Greig said that ending 102 years of history was a terrible decision by Whyte.
“I am deeply saddened by this," Greig told the Daily Record. "I always held that these shares, which are a vital part of Rangers’ heritage, should never be sold. Now they’re gone.
“Rangers were built on strength of character and achieved a significant standing in football. There was integrity and I worry about that being lost too.
“But those shares should never have been sold. They were about something more than money.”
Usmanov has said he is prepared to pay up to £14,000 per share as he seeks to take his stake in Arsenal from some 27 per cent last May to 30 per cent.
American Stan Kroenke owns a majority stake in Arsenal and Usmanov has been steadily building up his holding in the club through his Red & White vehicle as part of his opposition to Kroenke's takeover.
Arsenal moved from their original base in Woolwich, south London, to north London in 1913 because of their financial problems.
