Watch: Marwan Koukash and Derek Beaumont’s bizarre appearance on Judge Rinder

Today it has been revealed that former Salford Red Devils owner Marwan Koukash has declared bankruptcy.

So in light of this, we thought we would look back at his legacy in the sport.

Koukash became a prominent figure in rugby league from 2013 onwards when he took ownership of the Red Devils but having left the club it seems financial troubles have found him.

He was keen to splash the cash at Salford though and in a busy first year in charge, the Palestine-born businessman signed the likes of Rangi Chase, Gareth Hock and Harrison Hansen with coaches such as Brian Noble, Iestyn Harris and Ian Watson involved during his tenure.

January 2018 saw him sell his share in the club after a lack of success and that sale saw ownership transfer to a consortium of long-standing supporters.

But let’s take a look at where it all started and the Red Devolution.

Koukash renamed the Salford City Reds as the Salford Red Devils, the next step in forming the club we see today after they had moved to the AJ Bell Stadium in 2012.

Their rebrand, now only matched by Leigh Leopards’ recently, took place in September and the club also signed eight huge names including home town boy Adrian Morley who had captained Warrington Wolves in the Grand Final in the 2013 season.

He would later add other star players to the side including the huge signing of Kevin Locke which never really came off.

It continued to be an interesting situation with the revelation that Salford Mayor Ian Stewart had paid £200,000 to keep the club afloat at one point.

The big signings kept coming and in 2014 Phil Clarke backed them to win the Grand Final however the Red Devils were always a long way off from challenging and needed a now famous Gareth O’Brien drop goal against Hull KR to save them from relegation in 2016 in the Million Pound Game.

2017 was a promising year that ultimately derailed towards the end and in 2018 they again battled relegation after Koukash had left the club earlier that year.

He did appoint the coach that would take Salford all the way to the Grand Final in 2019 however in the shape of Ian Watson who also took them to Wembley and is now regarded as one the finest coaches around.

However, it is unclear how much credit he should be given in terms of Salford’s recent success.

Perhaps the best memory Koukash gave to rugby league was when he and Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont appeared on ITV show Judge Rinder to settle a dispute over £5,000 payment involving the move of Gareth Hock.

It was a sensational move to try and publicise the sport but left some fans embarrassed by it all.

You can watch the final verdict here:

There have always been suggestions we could one day see him back in the sport but today’s news makes an immediate return impossible.