- Martin signed a three-year deal replacing, Philippe Clement as Rangers manager
- Fans took to social media to express shock after finding out who he his partner is
- LISTEN: Was ‘Fergie Time’ real? Veteran Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg reveals all on the first episode of the Mail’s brand-new football podcast Whistleblowers
Rangers fans have expressed shock after finding out who Russell Martin’s former topless model girlfriend Lucy Pinder is.
The former Scotland international defender signed a three-year contract at Ibrox just a week after a US-based consortium completed a takeover of the Glaswegian club.
The 39-year-old had a short stint at Rangers as a player in 2018 and moves to Scotland for his first job after being sacked by Southampton in December with the club languishing in the Premier League‘s bottom spot.
Martin led the Saints to Championship promotion the previous season and enjoyed successful spells at Swansea and MK Dons.
The Rangers ownership labelled him the ‘standout choice’ to take charge after a long recruitment process to replace Philippe Clement – with former captain Barry Ferguson leading the team since February.
Amid the initial fanfare over his appointment, some Rangers supporters took to social media to share their surprise after discovering who his partner is.
Lucy Pinder rose to fame in the mid-2000s by being one of Britain’s favourite glamour models
Russell Martin and Pinder went public with their relationship in August as she shared a picture together
The 39-year-old has been appointed manager of Rangers – where he had a short spell on loan
‘How the f*** am I just now discovering Lucy Pinder,’ one wrote on X.
‘I still live in Scotland and I don’t have a clue who she is,’ another added.
But others were fully aware of the former glamour model.
‘Where have you been,’ one fan replied to the post.
‘Your having a laugh aren’t you mate,’ another replied.
Pinder, 41, was at the height of her fame in the mid-2000s during the era of lads’ mags such as FHM, Nuts and Loaded.
She appeared topless in Nuts Magazine was ranked on FHM’s ‘100 Sexiest Women in the World’.
She also featured on Soccer AM, albeit fully clothed, and later entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2009.
Pinder was discovered as a model on Bournemouth beach in 2003, at the age of 19
She appeared lads mags and was often ranked on FHM’s ‘100 Sexiest Women in the World’
Pinder, pictured during an appearance on Soccer AM in 2005, is an ardent Southampton fan
One Rangers fan took to social media to express his shock at finding out who Lucy Pinder was
Pinder was discovered as a model on Bournemouth beach in 2003, at the age of 19, when she was working as a secretary.
She is a life-long Southamptonsupporter, but will be cheering on her husband from Ibrox rather than St Mary’s next season.
Martin and Pinder went public with their relationship in August last year as she shared a picture of them together in Brighton, where Martin was receiving an honorary degree.
Martin’s relationship with Pinder follows the breakdown of his marriage to Jasmine Martin, with whom he shares three children and who he previously hailed as a ‘supermum’.