QPR have been out of the Premier League for more than a decade, and they will not return this season under Julien Stephan.

However, it is fair to say that the Frenchman has joined a totally different club from the one that previously achieved promotion to the Premier League.

During Tony Fernandes’ tenure, the R’s were tremendously ambitious, bringing in a number of high-profile players to help the team remain up and ultimately gain promotion.

Rio Ferdinand, Ji-sung Park, Julio Cesar, and Jose Bosingwa were just a few of the stars to arrive at Loftus Road over the course of a few years, and while they were brought in with good intentions, QPR became notorious for irresponsible and crazy spending that would eventually cost the club money.

Rob Green discloses that QPR players did not have relegation clauses in their contracts.

Rob Green was a member of the Londoners’ team at the time, having made over 100 appearances for the club over four years.

Speaking on Ben Foster’s podcast, he revealed an interesting insight that highlighted QPR’s off-field mistakes, confirming that players’ wages were not reduced following their relegation to the Championship – in fact, they ended up earning more money in the second tier!

“Yes, this is how it was (a 50% wage decrease due to relegation) at West Ham. No, at QPR, you received a pay increase.

“There are more games, which means more appearance money, and you receive a promotion bonus. At QPR (in the Premier League), you play 38 games and receive whatever you want in addition to your appearance payments. Then you’re relegated; there’s no bonus.

“In the Championship, there are 46 games, and you win, and you get promoted, so you get a promotion bonus in there as well.”

It is common practice for Premier League clubs to include wage cuts in players’ contracts if they are relegated, with reports indicating that it is even in place at Tottenham as they fight to stay up this season, despite the fact that they have rarely been involved in a relegation battle prior to the current season.

Rob Green reveals the amateur mistakes QPR were making.

This reveals a lot about QPR’s former management style, which is why they struggled to move players after being relegated.

Finally, the owner must accept responsibility for this, and while they were attempting to make the club a force on the field by pouring money at it, they plainly made a mistake in their approach.

As previously stated, this mismanagement caused QPR significant problems, and they struck a £42 million settlement with the EFL in 2018 for overspending on their path to promotion four years earlier, when their wages accounted for 195% of their turnover.

So it was never sustainable, but a lot has changed over the years, and they are now in a more stable position, despite recent losses.

That demonstrates the difficulties that football teams undergo in order to compete, but if QPR ever return to the Premier League, relegation wage cuts will undoubtedly be included in players’ contracts!