Former Rangers owner Sir David Murray told a court yesterday that he had no idea that Craig Whyte, the man he sold the club to for £1, was effectively borrowing the money to secure the 2011 deal from future season ticket sales.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Murray took the stand as a witness in the fraud trial of Whyte, 46, who was chairman when Rangers subsequently went into administration in 2012.

When Whyte bought the club, he also took on debts that had to be cleared, such as Ranger’s £18m indebtedness to the Lloyd’s banking group.

Murray told the jury that he would “categorically” not have done a deal with Whyte to buy Rangers if he thought the money to clear the club’s debts was coming from future season-ticket sales.

The former Rangers owner told a court that “wasn’t in the best interest of the club” and said he believed the majority of the money for the acquisition was coming from Whyte’s “own pocket”.

Murray, 65, also insisted concerns about Rangers’ financial situation before Whyte took over in 2011 had been “grossly exaggerated”.

The court was further told of an email from Murray in which he warned the “fallout” if there was no deal to buy the club would be “really serious”.

Prosecutors allege Whyte pretended to Murray, and others, that funds were available to make all required payments to acquire a “controlling and majority stake’’ in the club. The Crown alleges Whyte had only £4 million available from two sources at the time but took out a £24 million loan from Ticketus against three years of future season ticket sales.

Murray told the court he became aware there was, in the words of advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, a “Ticketus deal” in 2012 — the year after Whyte’s takeover.

Prentice asked: “Had it been brought to your attention that the money ... came from Ticketus in the form of three years of season-ticket sales, what would your reaction have been?”

“Categorically, we would not have done the deal,” Murray told the court.

“Because it wasn’t in the best interest of the club. It was selling the future and it then would have run out of resources in my opinion.”

Murray, who bought his 85 per cent stake in Rangers in 1988, put the club up for sale in 2007. He stood down as club chairman for health reasons in 2009.

He told the court that, looking at the last years of his tenure, he believed claims of Rangers’ financial woes had been “grossly exaggerated”.

During questioning by Whyte’s QC Donald Findlay, the court heard of an email sent by Murray about the takeover, which stated: “Nothing is perfect but we do not have a viable alternative. We have tried for some time to attract a new buyer and now need to complete.

“The fallout of no deal is really serious.”

The trial before Lady Stacey continues.