- Next: Manchester City: Past Results/Shared Players/Old Photos
- QPR REPORT MESSAGEBOARD
- QPR in the Photos: From the 1880s to the 21st Century: Bushman QPR Photo Archive
- QPR in Video
_____________________________________________________________
Transfer Deadline Day!
- The QPR Squad of 25 of One Year Ago - Some 15 of those 25 have moved on or will be moving on!
- League Cup ("Capital One" Cup) Third Round Draw: QPR vs Reading (Week of Sept 24)
- Agent of misfortune: Joey Barton's agent Willie McKay had cocaine in his car while flaunting driving ban- Willie McKay was fined, had his ban extended and cautioned by cops
- Year Ago: SWP, Ferdinand & Puncheon Join and the Squad of 25...Two Years Ago: Hulse and Smith Join....Five Years Ago: Leigertwood Joins....Seven Years ago: Langley and Lomas Join
- Four Year Flashback: Bernie Ecclestone Talking re QPR- 44 Years Ago: QPR's First London Opponent in the First Division...41 One Years Ago: QPR Crush Fulham at Craven Cottage
- Cesar Joins QPR
Daily Mail - Mark Hughes Column
We have signed a few players. It might look like a scattergun approach but it’s not.
We start every summer with a wishlist, but don’t usually get everyone! We’ve done our homework, we are not just collecting players. We’ve signed some very good ones from big clubs like Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
The one player we didn’t expect was Julio Cesar. He’s a fantastic signing for this club. It has been called a statement signing, but I don’t like that. It’s a football signing. He wants to be part of the story of where this club is heading.
We have not spent a fortune, we have built up good contacts in the game.
We have negotiated some good deals that will not damage the club. I also have an ambitious chairman, Tony Fernandes, who is the best I have worked for.
Julio Cesar sat in Tony’s house and liked what we had to say. He showed a desire to play in the Premier League and to listen to what we are trying to achieve. He is some goalkeeper. I played with some good keepers, including Peter Schmeichel.
I worked with some good ones too, such as Brad Friedel, Shay Given and Joe Hart. Julio is a fantastic shot-stopper who has a control of his area.
He’s won 64 caps for Brazil. That tells you it all. And he’s only 32. Brad is still playing in the Premier League at 41.
It was always my plan to sign two goalkeepers. I just didn’t expect one of them to be a Champions League winner from Inter Milan.
We’ve had different keepers in all summer, taking a look at them. Rob Green now has to rise to the challenge. Competition for places is what I wanted.
The squad required major surgery, that has now happened and I expect us to have a good season.
I back my record in the transfer market.
Vincent Kompany is the captain of the English champions, Mousa Dembele I signed for Fulham for £4million and they sold him this week to Tottenham for £15m. Chris Samba cost Blackburn £450,000 and was sold for over £12m. They don’t all work as well as those, mind, but they’re not bad.
Keeping the transfer window open after the start of the season is not helpful to managers.
But it has been helpful to us this time. We have a lot of quality now. I’m looking forward to watching training. I don’t play any more.
I would just get in the way and we want the training to have the required intensity. The new players will enjoy the sessions my staff and I put on.
Losing 5-0 to Swansea was not in the plan.
It took us by surprise, we didn’t see it coming. We had a good pre-season; a lot of travelling, but a good pre-season and we were happy with preparation. Then along came Swansea.
They scored a terrific second goal as we chased the game and then they picked us off. The result sounds awful. Actually, it was awful. But the signings this week are not a knee-jerk response to that defeat, even though it might look that way.
These players were always on our wishlist and the chairman has been brilliant. Now we have to see where we can take this club.
We won’t go through this process again. It won’t be spend, spend, spend all the time.
But I can’t say we are finished yet. There is still until 11pm today. I said in an earlier column for Sportsmail that I wanted to improve on the squad and bring in quality. We have done that.
I’m looking forward to seeing this team settle down and play. We have some interesting games coming up...Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs. Top players thrive on big challenges. Let’s see what we can do.
I congratulate City on winning the title last season.
They beat us on the final day — you may remember. It was crazy when they won right at the death. It would be good to think we owe them one. They have an outstanding team, but let’s have a go.
Attacking football has been rewarded already this season, although we can’t be gung-ho. I signed a little fella called Carlos Tevez for City, but I won’t be asking him to go easy on us. He looks a threat again and has a sparkle in his eye. He looks settled, but we have goalscorers too.
There are similarities between what we found at QPR and when I took over at City.
Things just weren’t in place. There wasn’t the infrastructure to fulfil the demands of the owner. And that takes time. The owner understands what we want to build and what it will take to get there.
I want QPR to be in a different place — so what’s my target for the team?
We were almost relegated last season. It may take two, three, four years but we want to build something here. The ground can be a hostile fortress for us and we have a good record at Loftus Road, where the supporters create a terrific atmosphere that helped us to some big wins last season.
Swansea was a blip. Since then we got a point on the road at Norwich and we have beaten Walsall at home in the Capital One Cup. It’s a start.
One of the players who has left the club is Paddy Kenny.
You would have read in these pages about his texts and voicemails. It was an unfortunate episode between professional people. It shouldn’t have happened, but he has apologised and it’s over now.
We move on. We needed different personnel and we now have Robert Green and Julio Cesar. I wish Paddy all the best at Leeds.
Another who is close to leaving is Joey Barton.
A number of options have been presented to him and I hope this latest one works out for him at Marseille. It’s better for him to move on and get on with his football career. I don’t really have anything more to say on the matter.
I’m not on Twitter. And I won’t be.
I just don’t get it. But then I guess not everyone has a newspaper column. I will report back in a few weeks.
Hopefully I will have some Premier League wins to include. This column should have appeared after the Swansea game, but I thought it was going to be an interesting final week of the transfer window.
And that’s how it’s turned out. It’s good to have exciting signings to write about. Esteban Granero is another terrific capture, which takes it to 10.
Park Ji-sung, Jose Bosingwa, Junior Hoilett, Samba Diakite, Fabio, Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, Rob Green and Julio Cesar. That looks like good business to me. Mail
Ham and High - QPR boss provides reason why Man Utd, Inter Milan & Real Madrid stars have joined
QPR manager Mark Hughes believes that the club’s project is the reason why he is able to complete a number of transfer coups.
The R’s summer signings have included Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, Robert Green, Samba Diakite and Junior Hoilett.
However the west Londoners have also completed deals for Ji-Sung Park, Jose Bosingwa and the club have also brought in Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar, subject to international clearance, and Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero in the past two days.
“What we are doing at QPR is having an impact on players,” Hughes said.
“It is probably true to say that if we had approached certain players three or four months ago about joining the club, the suggestion wouldn’t have been entertained.
“But people now know we are serious and we are trying to do something different here.
“And that message is out there now which is why we are able to sit in front of quality players and, once we are given that opportunity, we feel we have a good story to tell them.
“That’s why players are deciding that QPR is a great option.” Ham and High
QPR Official Site - EXCLUSIVE: GRANERO COMPLETES MOVE
R’s seal sensational deal for Real Madrid midfielder
I love the passion of the English fans and from what I know QPR supporters are amongst the very best. "
Esteban Granero
THE CLUB is delighted to confirm the signing of Real Madrid ace Esteban Granero.
The talented midfielder – who has made 60 appearances for Los Blancos – has penned a four-year contract at Loftus Road, after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee for his services.
A darling of the Santiago Bernabeu terraces having come through the Madrid Academy set-up, the 25 year-old midfielder arrives in W12 just three months after helping Madrid win the La Liga title, his third major trophy.
R’s boss Mark Hughes believes Rangers will benefit hugely from having a player of Granero’s ilk at the club, commenting: “He is a great player, first and foremost. You don’t play at a club like Real Madrid if you’re not.
“He has been there from the age of nine, so this has been a huge decision for him. He is very well regarded there and for him to leave a club of that stature to come to us shows the belief he has in what we are trying to do.
“He has got great energy and is technically very gifted, as you would expect from a Real Madrid player. He is very comfortable on the ball and is an all-round excellent midfielder, which we will benefit from.”
Hughes added: “What we are doing at QPR is having an impact on players. It is probably true to say that if we had approached certain players three or four months ago about joining the club, the suggestion wouldn’t have been entertained.
“But people now know we are serious and we are trying to do something different here. And that message is out there now which is why we are able to sit in front of quality players and once we are given that opportunity, we feel we have a good story to tell them. That’s why players are deciding that QPR is a great option.”
Granero, who will wear the number 14 shirt at Loftus Road, told www.qpr.co.uk: “I’m very happy to be here.
“I love the passion of the English fans and from what I know QPR supporters are amongst the very best.
“I think QPR will continue to grow as a club and I want to be part of a very bright future here.
“When I spoke to Mark and Mike (Rigg), as well as Tony (Fernandes) I was convinced that I wanted to be part of this project, which has no limits.
“I am delighted to be part of this exciting chapter in the club’s history. Players that have joined before me are as excited as I am about what QPR can become, one of the great teams in England.” QPR
QPR Official Site on Granero
We take a look at Mark Hughes’s latest summer signing …
THE ARRIVAL of Esteban Félix Granero Molina from Real Madrid represents yet another significant coup for R's boss Mark Hughes.
The 25 year-old midfielder, who joined Madrid as an eight year-old, arrives at Loftus Road just months after helping Real win the La Liga title.
After coming through the ranks at the Santiago Bernabéu, Granero made the step up to Madrid's C squad at the age of 17, standing out for his talent and passing skills, and going on to receive the Números 1 Don Balón award as the 'Most Valuable Player' of the fourth division Group 7 in 2005/06.
Granero – who is also known as El Pirata (the pirate) in Spain owing to his outlandish hairstyle– spent the 2008/09 campaign on loan at Getafe - also based in Madrid - making 27 appearances and scoring three goals.
At the end of the season, which included a run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, Granero returned to Madrid.
However, Getafe came back in for the midfielder in July 2008, with Granero penning a permanent deal. Under the terms of the deal, Madrid agreed a re-buy option, which after making 35 appearances and scoring five goals in the 2008/09 season, was exercised in July 2009 in a deal reported to be worth four million euros.
Granero's first Madrid goal at senior level arrived in the opening game of the 2009/10 season away at Espanyol, and he went on to make 31 appearances in La Liga.
The arrivals of Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil in 2010 restricted his starts the following season, but Granero was still a valuable squad player, scoring a crucial goal from the bench in a 1-1 draw versus Almería, as well as playing his part in their Copa del Rey triumph over Barcelona.
Last season, Granero played a vital role in the Madrid squad that clinched the La Liga title. He made 17 La Liga appearances, as Jose Mourinho's side saw off the threat of Barcelona to win their first league crown in four years.
http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/300812-granero-profile-343658.aspx
MAIL - QPR snap up Pompey youngster Magri as Granero and Mbia also head to Loftus Road
Queens Park Rangers' recruitment drive continued apace on Thursday as they added Portsmouth's teenage defender Sam Magri to deals for Esteban Granero and Stephane Mbia.
Rangers are continuing to work on further deals with a centre-back still on their wanted list. Manager Mark Hughes has targeted moves for Porto's Rolando, Tottenham's Michael Dawson and Real Madrid's Ricardo Carvalho, but has seen bids for the three stall and talks over a move for Wolfsburg's Danish international Simon Kjaer, 23, have also ground to a halt.
On his way: Mbia is set to move to Loftus Road
England youth international Magri, 18, who has signed a two year deal, had a trial at Liverpool last year.
Granero was discussing personal terms last night while Mbia is due to sign on Friday morning. Mail
[Posted on the official Site and then taken down...UPDDATE: NOW CONFIRMED
QPR Official Site - R’S SIGN POMPEY YOUNGSTER
Centre-half pens two-year professional deal
I just want to keep learning and progressing as a player. The new under-21 league is a great platform for young players."
Sam Magri
QPR HAVE completed the signing of highly-rated England youth international Sam Magri.
The cultured centre-half has signed a two-year professional contract following his release from Portsmouth.
Magri, who spurned the advances down a couple of other Premier League clubs in favour of a move to Loftus Road, told www.qpr.co.uk: “I’m really excited to be here.
“QPR are really going places as a club and I’m looking forward to writing the next chapter of my career here.
“I just want to keep learning and progressing as a player. The new under-21 league is a great platform for young players like myself and I can’t wait to meet my new team-mates and start playing.”
R's Head Coach of Elite Development, Marc Bircham, told www.qpr.co.uk: "I have seen Sam play quite a few times and he is a player of potential. He is an excellent addition for us.
"His arrival is an example of what we are trying to do as a football club. The first team are working hard to raise the standard of their squad and we are doing the same at Academy level.
"Sam enjoys the art of defending but he is also comfortable on the ball and I think every modern day centre back needs to have that now.
"There were a number of clubs in England interested in Sam so the fact he has come here shows how QPR is looked upon now by players at other teams.
"We have got some really big aspirations here and we are working hard to fulfil them."
Magri, 18, joined Pompey as a youth player and moved up through the ranks in their Academy.
During the 2011/12 season, he was involved in several first team squads, but was forced to wait for his first professional appearance until earlier this season, in a Capital One Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle.
On the international stage, Magri captained the England under-16 side during the successful Victory Shield campaign of 2009 and also travelled to France in March 2010 to help England reach the Final of the Montaigu Tournament, where they lost to Portugal on penalties.
Since then, he has accrued 22 England under-17 caps, featuring in the 2011 World Cup in Mexico.
He made his debut for the under-18’s versus Slovakia in November and is currently on standby for the next England under-19 fixture. QPR
Guardian - Jacob Steinberg - Sam Allardyce offers support to QPR goalkeeper Robert Green
• Green's QPR place threatened by Júlio César arrival
• Allardyce believes Brazilian may struggle in England
Sam Allardyce has offered his support to Robert Green, who left West Ham United for Queens Park Rangers in the summer but whose place is now threatened by the arrival of the Internazionale goalkeeper Júlio César at Loftus Road.
César, who won the Champions League with Inter two years ago, has undoubted pedigree but Allardyce believes the Brazilian will take time to settle in English football and backed Green to rise to the challenge.
"He's a very experienced goalkeeper, an England international, so I don't think he'll worry too much about the competition from César," said Allardyce. "He [César] won't be ready for the Premier League. They'll probably play him because of the size of the name but he won't have seen anything like the Premier League when it comes in and at him.
"I know he's been at a top club for many, many years but this league is different to what he's used to playing in and that takes some adjusting to. Rob's proven he's one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last nine or 10 years."
Allardyce admitted his disappointment at not being able to convince Green to sign a new contract and stay at West Ham but still wishes him well. Green has endured a difficult start to life at QPR, a poor performance on his debut against Swansea City convincing Mark Hughes to move for César.
"There are decisions made by players and managers when we think it is a better time for us to move on," said Allardyce. "And then when we finally get there it's not quite as good as we thought it was. In the end from Robert's point of view he's at a very good club that must have given him a very good contract.
"He's at the prime time of his career. For a goalkeeper just into his 30s that is the most golden moment, I suppose, or should be because you know all about the goalkeeping, you know all about the pressure, you know all about the demands and the level of football and consistency you've got to hit. It's all there, locked into the brain ready to use.
"He's at his peak. His fitness levels are brilliant, he works hard on the training ground. He tries to get better all the time and not rest on his laurels." Guardian
- QPR in the Photos: From the 1880s to the 21st Century: Bushman QPR Photo Archive
- QPR in Video
_____________________________________________________________
Transfer Deadline Day!
- The QPR Squad of 25 of One Year Ago - Some 15 of those 25 have moved on or will be moving on!
- League Cup ("Capital One" Cup) Third Round Draw: QPR vs Reading (Week of Sept 24)
- Agent of misfortune: Joey Barton's agent Willie McKay had cocaine in his car while flaunting driving ban- Willie McKay was fined, had his ban extended and cautioned by cops
- Year Ago: SWP, Ferdinand & Puncheon Join and the Squad of 25...Two Years Ago: Hulse and Smith Join....Five Years Ago: Leigertwood Joins....Seven Years ago: Langley and Lomas Join
- Four Year Flashback: Bernie Ecclestone Talking re QPR- 44 Years Ago: QPR's First London Opponent in the First Division...41 One Years Ago: QPR Crush Fulham at Craven Cottage
- Cesar Joins QPR
Daily Mail - Mark Hughes Column
We have signed a few players. It might look like a scattergun approach but it’s not.
We start every summer with a wishlist, but don’t usually get everyone! We’ve done our homework, we are not just collecting players. We’ve signed some very good ones from big clubs like Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
The one player we didn’t expect was Julio Cesar. He’s a fantastic signing for this club. It has been called a statement signing, but I don’t like that. It’s a football signing. He wants to be part of the story of where this club is heading.
We have not spent a fortune, we have built up good contacts in the game.
We have negotiated some good deals that will not damage the club. I also have an ambitious chairman, Tony Fernandes, who is the best I have worked for.
Julio Cesar sat in Tony’s house and liked what we had to say. He showed a desire to play in the Premier League and to listen to what we are trying to achieve. He is some goalkeeper. I played with some good keepers, including Peter Schmeichel.
I worked with some good ones too, such as Brad Friedel, Shay Given and Joe Hart. Julio is a fantastic shot-stopper who has a control of his area.
He’s won 64 caps for Brazil. That tells you it all. And he’s only 32. Brad is still playing in the Premier League at 41.
It was always my plan to sign two goalkeepers. I just didn’t expect one of them to be a Champions League winner from Inter Milan.
We’ve had different keepers in all summer, taking a look at them. Rob Green now has to rise to the challenge. Competition for places is what I wanted.
The squad required major surgery, that has now happened and I expect us to have a good season.
I back my record in the transfer market.
Vincent Kompany is the captain of the English champions, Mousa Dembele I signed for Fulham for £4million and they sold him this week to Tottenham for £15m. Chris Samba cost Blackburn £450,000 and was sold for over £12m. They don’t all work as well as those, mind, but they’re not bad.
Keeping the transfer window open after the start of the season is not helpful to managers.
But it has been helpful to us this time. We have a lot of quality now. I’m looking forward to watching training. I don’t play any more.
I would just get in the way and we want the training to have the required intensity. The new players will enjoy the sessions my staff and I put on.
Losing 5-0 to Swansea was not in the plan.
It took us by surprise, we didn’t see it coming. We had a good pre-season; a lot of travelling, but a good pre-season and we were happy with preparation. Then along came Swansea.
They scored a terrific second goal as we chased the game and then they picked us off. The result sounds awful. Actually, it was awful. But the signings this week are not a knee-jerk response to that defeat, even though it might look that way.
These players were always on our wishlist and the chairman has been brilliant. Now we have to see where we can take this club.
We won’t go through this process again. It won’t be spend, spend, spend all the time.
But I can’t say we are finished yet. There is still until 11pm today. I said in an earlier column for Sportsmail that I wanted to improve on the squad and bring in quality. We have done that.
I’m looking forward to seeing this team settle down and play. We have some interesting games coming up...Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs. Top players thrive on big challenges. Let’s see what we can do.
I congratulate City on winning the title last season.
They beat us on the final day — you may remember. It was crazy when they won right at the death. It would be good to think we owe them one. They have an outstanding team, but let’s have a go.
Attacking football has been rewarded already this season, although we can’t be gung-ho. I signed a little fella called Carlos Tevez for City, but I won’t be asking him to go easy on us. He looks a threat again and has a sparkle in his eye. He looks settled, but we have goalscorers too.
There are similarities between what we found at QPR and when I took over at City.
Things just weren’t in place. There wasn’t the infrastructure to fulfil the demands of the owner. And that takes time. The owner understands what we want to build and what it will take to get there.
I want QPR to be in a different place — so what’s my target for the team?
We were almost relegated last season. It may take two, three, four years but we want to build something here. The ground can be a hostile fortress for us and we have a good record at Loftus Road, where the supporters create a terrific atmosphere that helped us to some big wins last season.
Swansea was a blip. Since then we got a point on the road at Norwich and we have beaten Walsall at home in the Capital One Cup. It’s a start.
One of the players who has left the club is Paddy Kenny.
You would have read in these pages about his texts and voicemails. It was an unfortunate episode between professional people. It shouldn’t have happened, but he has apologised and it’s over now.
We move on. We needed different personnel and we now have Robert Green and Julio Cesar. I wish Paddy all the best at Leeds.
Another who is close to leaving is Joey Barton.
A number of options have been presented to him and I hope this latest one works out for him at Marseille. It’s better for him to move on and get on with his football career. I don’t really have anything more to say on the matter.
I’m not on Twitter. And I won’t be.
I just don’t get it. But then I guess not everyone has a newspaper column. I will report back in a few weeks.
Hopefully I will have some Premier League wins to include. This column should have appeared after the Swansea game, but I thought it was going to be an interesting final week of the transfer window.
And that’s how it’s turned out. It’s good to have exciting signings to write about. Esteban Granero is another terrific capture, which takes it to 10.
Park Ji-sung, Jose Bosingwa, Junior Hoilett, Samba Diakite, Fabio, Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, Rob Green and Julio Cesar. That looks like good business to me. Mail
Ham and High - QPR boss provides reason why Man Utd, Inter Milan & Real Madrid stars have joined
QPR manager Mark Hughes believes that the club’s project is the reason why he is able to complete a number of transfer coups.
The R’s summer signings have included Ryan Nelsen, Andy Johnson, Robert Green, Samba Diakite and Junior Hoilett.
However the west Londoners have also completed deals for Ji-Sung Park, Jose Bosingwa and the club have also brought in Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar, subject to international clearance, and Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero in the past two days.
“What we are doing at QPR is having an impact on players,” Hughes said.
“It is probably true to say that if we had approached certain players three or four months ago about joining the club, the suggestion wouldn’t have been entertained.
“But people now know we are serious and we are trying to do something different here.
“And that message is out there now which is why we are able to sit in front of quality players and, once we are given that opportunity, we feel we have a good story to tell them.
“That’s why players are deciding that QPR is a great option.” Ham and High
QPR Official Site - EXCLUSIVE: GRANERO COMPLETES MOVE
R’s seal sensational deal for Real Madrid midfielder
I love the passion of the English fans and from what I know QPR supporters are amongst the very best. "
Esteban Granero
THE CLUB is delighted to confirm the signing of Real Madrid ace Esteban Granero.
The talented midfielder – who has made 60 appearances for Los Blancos – has penned a four-year contract at Loftus Road, after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee for his services.
A darling of the Santiago Bernabeu terraces having come through the Madrid Academy set-up, the 25 year-old midfielder arrives in W12 just three months after helping Madrid win the La Liga title, his third major trophy.
R’s boss Mark Hughes believes Rangers will benefit hugely from having a player of Granero’s ilk at the club, commenting: “He is a great player, first and foremost. You don’t play at a club like Real Madrid if you’re not.
“He has been there from the age of nine, so this has been a huge decision for him. He is very well regarded there and for him to leave a club of that stature to come to us shows the belief he has in what we are trying to do.
“He has got great energy and is technically very gifted, as you would expect from a Real Madrid player. He is very comfortable on the ball and is an all-round excellent midfielder, which we will benefit from.”
Hughes added: “What we are doing at QPR is having an impact on players. It is probably true to say that if we had approached certain players three or four months ago about joining the club, the suggestion wouldn’t have been entertained.
“But people now know we are serious and we are trying to do something different here. And that message is out there now which is why we are able to sit in front of quality players and once we are given that opportunity, we feel we have a good story to tell them. That’s why players are deciding that QPR is a great option.”
Granero, who will wear the number 14 shirt at Loftus Road, told www.qpr.co.uk: “I’m very happy to be here.
“I love the passion of the English fans and from what I know QPR supporters are amongst the very best.
“I think QPR will continue to grow as a club and I want to be part of a very bright future here.
“When I spoke to Mark and Mike (Rigg), as well as Tony (Fernandes) I was convinced that I wanted to be part of this project, which has no limits.
“I am delighted to be part of this exciting chapter in the club’s history. Players that have joined before me are as excited as I am about what QPR can become, one of the great teams in England.” QPR
QPR Official Site on Granero
We take a look at Mark Hughes’s latest summer signing …
THE ARRIVAL of Esteban Félix Granero Molina from Real Madrid represents yet another significant coup for R's boss Mark Hughes.
The 25 year-old midfielder, who joined Madrid as an eight year-old, arrives at Loftus Road just months after helping Real win the La Liga title.
After coming through the ranks at the Santiago Bernabéu, Granero made the step up to Madrid's C squad at the age of 17, standing out for his talent and passing skills, and going on to receive the Números 1 Don Balón award as the 'Most Valuable Player' of the fourth division Group 7 in 2005/06.
Granero – who is also known as El Pirata (the pirate) in Spain owing to his outlandish hairstyle– spent the 2008/09 campaign on loan at Getafe - also based in Madrid - making 27 appearances and scoring three goals.
At the end of the season, which included a run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, Granero returned to Madrid.
However, Getafe came back in for the midfielder in July 2008, with Granero penning a permanent deal. Under the terms of the deal, Madrid agreed a re-buy option, which after making 35 appearances and scoring five goals in the 2008/09 season, was exercised in July 2009 in a deal reported to be worth four million euros.
Granero's first Madrid goal at senior level arrived in the opening game of the 2009/10 season away at Espanyol, and he went on to make 31 appearances in La Liga.
The arrivals of Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil in 2010 restricted his starts the following season, but Granero was still a valuable squad player, scoring a crucial goal from the bench in a 1-1 draw versus Almería, as well as playing his part in their Copa del Rey triumph over Barcelona.
Last season, Granero played a vital role in the Madrid squad that clinched the La Liga title. He made 17 La Liga appearances, as Jose Mourinho's side saw off the threat of Barcelona to win their first league crown in four years.
http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/300812-granero-profile-343658.aspx
MAIL - QPR snap up Pompey youngster Magri as Granero and Mbia also head to Loftus Road
Queens Park Rangers' recruitment drive continued apace on Thursday as they added Portsmouth's teenage defender Sam Magri to deals for Esteban Granero and Stephane Mbia.
Rangers are continuing to work on further deals with a centre-back still on their wanted list. Manager Mark Hughes has targeted moves for Porto's Rolando, Tottenham's Michael Dawson and Real Madrid's Ricardo Carvalho, but has seen bids for the three stall and talks over a move for Wolfsburg's Danish international Simon Kjaer, 23, have also ground to a halt.
On his way: Mbia is set to move to Loftus Road
England youth international Magri, 18, who has signed a two year deal, had a trial at Liverpool last year.
Granero was discussing personal terms last night while Mbia is due to sign on Friday morning. Mail
[Posted on the official Site and then taken down...UPDDATE: NOW CONFIRMED
QPR Official Site - R’S SIGN POMPEY YOUNGSTER
Centre-half pens two-year professional deal
I just want to keep learning and progressing as a player. The new under-21 league is a great platform for young players."
Sam Magri
QPR HAVE completed the signing of highly-rated England youth international Sam Magri.
The cultured centre-half has signed a two-year professional contract following his release from Portsmouth.
Magri, who spurned the advances down a couple of other Premier League clubs in favour of a move to Loftus Road, told www.qpr.co.uk: “I’m really excited to be here.
“QPR are really going places as a club and I’m looking forward to writing the next chapter of my career here.
“I just want to keep learning and progressing as a player. The new under-21 league is a great platform for young players like myself and I can’t wait to meet my new team-mates and start playing.”
R's Head Coach of Elite Development, Marc Bircham, told www.qpr.co.uk: "I have seen Sam play quite a few times and he is a player of potential. He is an excellent addition for us.
"His arrival is an example of what we are trying to do as a football club. The first team are working hard to raise the standard of their squad and we are doing the same at Academy level.
"Sam enjoys the art of defending but he is also comfortable on the ball and I think every modern day centre back needs to have that now.
"There were a number of clubs in England interested in Sam so the fact he has come here shows how QPR is looked upon now by players at other teams.
"We have got some really big aspirations here and we are working hard to fulfil them."
Magri, 18, joined Pompey as a youth player and moved up through the ranks in their Academy.
During the 2011/12 season, he was involved in several first team squads, but was forced to wait for his first professional appearance until earlier this season, in a Capital One Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle.
On the international stage, Magri captained the England under-16 side during the successful Victory Shield campaign of 2009 and also travelled to France in March 2010 to help England reach the Final of the Montaigu Tournament, where they lost to Portugal on penalties.
Since then, he has accrued 22 England under-17 caps, featuring in the 2011 World Cup in Mexico.
He made his debut for the under-18’s versus Slovakia in November and is currently on standby for the next England under-19 fixture. QPR
Guardian - Jacob Steinberg - Sam Allardyce offers support to QPR goalkeeper Robert Green
• Green's QPR place threatened by Júlio César arrival
• Allardyce believes Brazilian may struggle in England
Sam Allardyce has offered his support to Robert Green, who left West Ham United for Queens Park Rangers in the summer but whose place is now threatened by the arrival of the Internazionale goalkeeper Júlio César at Loftus Road.
César, who won the Champions League with Inter two years ago, has undoubted pedigree but Allardyce believes the Brazilian will take time to settle in English football and backed Green to rise to the challenge.
"He's a very experienced goalkeeper, an England international, so I don't think he'll worry too much about the competition from César," said Allardyce. "He [César] won't be ready for the Premier League. They'll probably play him because of the size of the name but he won't have seen anything like the Premier League when it comes in and at him.
"I know he's been at a top club for many, many years but this league is different to what he's used to playing in and that takes some adjusting to. Rob's proven he's one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last nine or 10 years."
Allardyce admitted his disappointment at not being able to convince Green to sign a new contract and stay at West Ham but still wishes him well. Green has endured a difficult start to life at QPR, a poor performance on his debut against Swansea City convincing Mark Hughes to move for César.
"There are decisions made by players and managers when we think it is a better time for us to move on," said Allardyce. "And then when we finally get there it's not quite as good as we thought it was. In the end from Robert's point of view he's at a very good club that must have given him a very good contract.
"He's at the prime time of his career. For a goalkeeper just into his 30s that is the most golden moment, I suppose, or should be because you know all about the goalkeeping, you know all about the pressure, you know all about the demands and the level of football and consistency you've got to hit. It's all there, locked into the brain ready to use.
"He's at his peak. His fitness levels are brilliant, he works hard on the training ground. He tries to get better all the time and not rest on his laurels." Guardian
QPR Official Site - DIAKITE RULED OUT
Midfielder set to miss City clash
R'S MIDFIELDER Samba Diakite will miss Saturday's trip to the Etihad Stadium.
The 23 year-old Malian international has returned to France owing to personal reasons and won't feature against the champions.
Rangers boss Mark Hughes told www.qpr.co.uk: "Samba is unfortunately having difficulties with some personal issues at the moment and we are supporting him in every way we can.
"We hope he can overcome this very quickly and get back to being the outstanding player that he undoubtedly is. In the meantime, we are giving him the time and help that he needs."
The club will be making no further comment, as we respect the player's privacy at this time. QPR
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