Queens Park Rangers have culled their squad.
The end of May and beginning of June is usually a time when clubs proclaim contract extensions and, in the same release, end their associations with ageing or badly performing players.
Such is the case, today, at QPR.
The club, officially relegated from the Premier League on Sunday, announced that six of their first team squad would have their services retained for next season.
Others were not so lucky. A club release reads:
The club can confirm six first team players are set to leave QPR.
Brian Murphy, Richard Dunne, Rio Ferdinand, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton and Bobby Zamora will all depart when their contracts expire on June 30… In addition, loanees Mauricio Isla, Niko Kranjcar, Eduardo Vargas and Mauro Zarate have all returned to their parent clubs.
‘The club would like to thank all the players for their contribution to QPR and wish them every success in the future.’
That means that we’ve seen Rio Ferdinand’s last game as a professional as he announced his retirement this afternoon.
It’s also bad news for the careers of Irish goalkeeper Murphy and 35-year-old centre defender Richard Dunne.
Murphy only managed six appearances in four years with the club while Dunne played 69 times in two seasons.
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