QPR fell flat with Man Utd transfer – Cardiff City and Middlesbrough enjoyed him | OneFootball

Queens Park Rangers did not get the best out of Fabio, while both Cardiff City and Middlesbrough saw the better of the former Manchester United man.

Queens Park Rangers went through a prolonged period of haphazard recruitment during the mid-2010’s and one man that never worked out at Loftus Road was former Manchester United full-back Fabio.

Even more frustratingly for the Hoops would be that rivals in the Championship, both Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, did manage to see a lot better from Fabio when he joined those two clubs after his loan stint with the R’s.

In the summer transfer window of 2012, having avoided relegation from the Premier League on the final day of the campaign, QPR once again embarked upon a busy period of recruitment.

Following the permanent additions of Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, Rob Green and Samba Diakite; Fabio was one of the first new faces through the door at Loftus Road as they sought to ensure they would become a stalwart of the Premier League and, ambitiously, even kick on towards the top-half of the table.

The rest of that summer saw his former Manchester United teammate Park Ji-sung also join as well as Andros Townsend, another loanee, Junior Hoilett, Jose Bosingwa, Stephane Mbia, Esteban Granero and compatriot Julio Cesar.

Despite the big-name additions, of which Fabio was one having been capped for Brazil in 2011 prior to his move to West London, QPR majorly flopped and Fabio was a part of one of the weakest starts to a Premier League season anyone has ever endured.

Fabio was one of many flops at QPR

Having joined Manchester United in 2008 from the academy setup at Brazilian giants Fluminense, alongside his twin brother and fellow full-back Rafael, Fabio was someone who had been on the periphery of things, albeit with undoubted potential, at Old Trafford.

His best stint as a United player came at the start of the 2011/12 season, where he eventually got called up to the Brazilian national side, but he again fell back to the fringes.

In the summer, in what was to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season before retirement, Fabio was deemed to be surplus to requirements in Salford and so QPR pounced on what appeared to be a bit of a shrewd move at the start of the summer.

The right-footed full-back, who began his career as a left-back playing on the opposite side to his brother, began the season with a chastening experience.

Run ragged by an impressive Swansea City on debut at left-back, Fabio picked up a yellow card for a foul on Nathan Dyer, who tormented him, as QPR went on to suffer a 5-0 annihilation at Loftus Road on the opening day of the campaign.

A week later, he switched to right-back for a 1-1 draw with Norwich City before again switching back to the left-hand side as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

A hamstring injury then saw his season broken up before returning to the side for a reasonable run from early-December, following Mark Hughes’ sacking and the appointment of Harry Redknapp, and he did form a part of the QPR side that went on a shock five-match unbeaten run of form, including four clean sheets, in the early part of 2013.

However, after an injury and then being ineligible to play against Manchester United, he made just one start in QPR’s final 13 games of the campaign with the R’s suffering a humbling relegation, having begun the season with out a win in their opening 16 matches.

He had been brought in as part of a raft of recognisable names and faces but, like so many, struggled to find anywhere near his best form, which would soon be discovered elsewhere.

Cardiff and Middlesbrough got the best out of Fabio after QPR stint

He returned to Manchester United with David Moyes now at the helm at Old Trafford, but again find himself very much on the outskirts of the first-team picture before a permanent move was sanctioned to Cardiff City, seeing him link up with former United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the Cardiff City Stadium.

His improved performances in South Wales weren’t enough to help the Bluebirds avoid their inevitable relegation back down to the Championship, but regular minutes at a lower level allowed him to thrive.

A versatile full-back, who played more or less the same amount of games at both right and left-back for Cardiff, as well as occasionally as a wing-back, Fabio became a bit of a fans’ favourite.

It did take time, and his best form didn’t necessarily come until the following season in the 2015/16 campaign, but that is when he began to flourish, primarily at right-back.

His penultimate appearance of that season came in late-February and saw him score a wondrous volley against Middlesbrough, the club whom he would soon join.

Perhaps a cut-price option, Aitor Karanka’s Smoggies sought to find defensive experience and Premier League pedigree in the market, following their promotion to the Premier League.

Having activated his release clause at Cardiff, Fabio moved to the north east of England and, with an endeavour and infectious work ethic, again became something of a fan favourite on Teesside.

Out of the side at the start of the campaign as Middlesbrough struggled in the harsh reality of the top-flight, Fabio eventually became almost an ever-present in the Premier League at the Riverside Stadium, playing in 24 of their final 27 games, 21 of those as a starter.

His versatility and professionalism was well respected for a ‘Boro side that suffered a fairly humbling relegation, involving just one victory, against rock-bottom neighbours Sunderland, in their final 21 games of the campaign.

In the Championship, Fabio again began the season brightly as Middlesbrough looked to immediately bounce back but a frustrating injury sustained in late-December, injuries were something that did plague his career throughout, saw him sidelined until the middle of April.

Fabio departed Middlesbrough that summer but he had left the Riverside how he left the Cardiff City Stadium, well liked and admired, in stark contrast to his dismal time of it at QPR.