Goian's Serie A début came against Roma, a match in which he played the full 90 minutes. In his first season at the club, Goian was mostly used as a covering replacement for defensive regulars Simon Kjær and Cesare Bovo. Following Kjær's departure to Steve McClaren's VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, Goian was originally expected to achieve considerably more first team opportunities; however, he sustained a number of injuries which prevented him from doing so. Upon fully recovering and returning to the starting lineup later in March, and in doing so making his first 2011 appearance in the league, Goian scored the winning goal against league-leaders A.C. Milan; and coincidentally, it was also Goian's first Serie A league goal, as well as his first goal as Palermo player. On 25 July, Palermo agreed an undisclosed fee with Scottish Champions Rangers regarding Goian, who subsequently signed a three-year contract. On 29 July, Goian received his work permit, and made his Rangers debut the following day against St Johnstone in a 2–0 win, which was also his new manager Ally McCoist's first win in charge of the Glasgow-based club. He was due to play his first European Champions League Qualifier for Rangers on 4 August 2011 after successfully appealing to UEFA who earlier deemed him ineligible. He unfortunately injured his hamstring and was unable to play. Goian made his Old Firm debut on 18 September 2011 in a 4–2 victory and was praised heavily by the Rangers fans. Goian quickly became a fans favourite at Rangers putting in many consistent and impressive displays. Goian formed a strong partnership with Carlos Bocanegra who also signed for the SPL Champions in the same transfer window and the pair cemented their places in the side as first choice centre backs. He scored his first goal for Rangers in a 3–2 defeat to Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup on 21 September 2011. After Rangers FC went into administration in June 2012, the companies's assets were purchased by Charles Green's consortium including the players' contracts. After insisting he would stay no matter what, when news broke that Rangers were set to play in the Third Division, Goian had a change of heart. However, he featured for Rangers in their 2–1 win against Brechin City in the Challenge Cup. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Goian announced his intention to play in England in near future. Eventually, Goian, along with Carlos Bocanegra was released by the club, ending his two years at the club and in total, Goian made 30 appearance; scoring once.