QPR stunned Premier League with shock Brazilian signing – He was supposed to be Loftus Road great.
Neil Warnock led QPR out of the Championship in 2010/11, but he left the club in January after a busy summer window. Fernandes was eager to spend the club’s way out of trouble.
Mark Hughes replaced Warnock midway through the 2011/12 season, and he ensured they avoided relegation on the final day of the campaign, despite their famous 3-2 loss to Manchester City, with a remarkable run of form at Loftus Road, winning their final five home games of the season against Liverpool, Arsenal, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City.
With Fernandes able to oversee his first full summer transfer window as QPR owner and chairman, the club decided to bring in some big names, with Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, and Rob Green joining on free transfers before the arrivals of Park Ji-sung and Jose Bosingwa.
Then, just a few days before the end of the 2012 summer transfer window, QPR completed the surprise signing of Brazil international custodian Julio Cesar from Internazionale.
Julio Cesar’s Journey to QPR
Julio Cesar was Inter’s custodian when they won the treble in 2009/10, but just two years later he chose to join a team that had narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship.
Julio Cesar, born in Rio de Janeiro, began his career with Flamengo and made 172 appearances before a creative move to Chievo Verona in January 2005. Although he did not play for Chievo, he joined Inter less than six months later.
During his 300 appearances for Inter, he won five Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia trophies, four Supercoppa Italiana, and the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite having 87 caps for Brazil, the keeper was dropped twice to the bench during his time at Loftus Road as the Hoops fell to the Championship.
| Julio Cesar’s career summary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Period | Games | Trophies |
| Flamengo | 1997 – 2004 & 2018 | 172 | 8 |
| Chievo Verona | 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| Inter Milan | 2005 – 2012 | 300 | 14 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 2012 – 2014 | 27 | 0 |
| Toronto | 2014 | 7 | 0 |
| Benfica | 2015 – 2018 | 83 | 6 |
| Brazil | 2004 – 2014 | 87 | 3 |
| Source: Transfermarkt | |||
Despite making only 24 Premier League appearances as QPR finished at the bottom, he remained Brazil’s first-choice custodian as the Selecao won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
From legendary at Inter to frozen out at QPR.
In the 2013/14 season, Harry Redknapp and the club chose to keep Julio Cesar out of the club, and he did not play for them at all in a Championship season that saw them win promotion via the play-offs with a late Bobby Zamora winner against Derby County at Wembley Stadium.
The Brazilian did appear for QPR in a 4-0 FA Cup third round loss to Everton at Goodison Park in early January before joining Major League Soccer club Toronto on loan.
Cesar left QPR in the summer of 2014, citing “contractual problems” as the reason for his departure. He stated that he was “happy” to have moved on from the club and will now play in goal for Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
He eventually moved on to Benfica for a few seasons before wrapping up his career at his hometown club, Flamengo, in 2018 and retiring as a Maracana legend.
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