Middlesbrough FC: Juninho transfer recommendation started absurd Riverside saga | OneFootball

Brazilian World Cup winner Ricardinho signed for Boro in February 2004, and by April, he'd become one of the club's most notorious transfer flops...

Middlesbrough signed Brazilian international Ricardinho on a free transfer in 2004, and despite arriving after being recommended to Boro boss Steve McClaren by club legend Juninho, the midfielder would become a notorious flop on Teesside.

Ricardinho signed for Middlesbrough on a free transfer in early February 2004 on a contract that ran until the end of the season, having terminated his previous contract with São Paulo to pursue a move abroad.

This was an era that saw Boro supporters being wowed at the Riverside Stadium on a weekly basis, as McClaren's side was laden with some truly world-class footballers, in what was a golden age for football on Teesside.

They didn't know it at the time, but Boro were just weeks away from lifting their first major trophy with a League Cup triumph over Bolton Wanderers on 29 February, which would throw open the doors to European football for the first time in the club's history.

So to see a player of Ricardinho's profile join the club wasn't a major surprise at the time, but what would be was how his Middlesbrough career would pan out...

Ricardinho's pedigree

Having started his professional career with Paraná Clube in Brazil, Ricardinho spent one season with French side Bordeaux before returning back to his homeland to sign for Corinthians.

There he would win two league titles with the São Paulo-based side between 1998-1999, and also won the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in 2000, beating fellow Brazilian side Vasco da Gama on penalties.

By then, he'd also earned international recognition, and made his Brazil debut in a 0-0 draw with Colombia on 28 March 2000. He would be part of the Brazil squad for the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, which they would ultimately win.

After becoming a World Cup winner, Ricardinho transferred to São Paulo in 2002, where he would remain until 2004, when he tore up his contract in order to secure a move to Middlesbrough.

It was clearly a switch that he was keen to make too. Speaking after his Boro move was confirmed, Ricardinho said: "I've been looking to play in England for two years, this is very exciting for me.

"Although my contract is only to the end of the season, I hope to impress the manager enough to earn myself a contract beyond that. I'm very, very happy to join Middlesbrough. I need five or six days training to get my fitness to the right level, but I hope I will be available for selection on Saturday."

The Middlesbrough boss was evidently happy to have him too. "He has 10 caps and has played at the top clubs," said McClaren on Ricardinho at the time of his arrival. "I've seen him and he comes well-recommended by Juninho and Doriva, and we're a little bit short in the central midfield area.

"He's got a good pedigree, and it's a little bit like the Doriva one, which we signed at the 11th-hour last January - and I hope he's as successful as Doriva has been for us."

Despite Juninho recommendation, Ricardinho flops

Reuniting with Brazil teammates Juninho and Doriva, Ricardinho looked to be joining Middlesbrough at the perfect time in the club's history.

McClaren's side was laden with top class players, and the attacking-minded midfielder looked set to be the latest Samba superstar to dazzle the Riverside crowds.

But, that never happened. In fact, not one piece of Ricardinho brilliance ever happened in a Middlesbrough shirt, which would confuse and frustrate Boro supporters even to this day.

He would play one reserve game for the club against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but never made a competitive senior appearance for the Teessiders. The closest he would come to seeing first-team action would be when he made the bench in a Premier League game against Chelsea, but that was it.

Ricardinho was released by Middlesbrough in April 2004, after his lack of game time became too much for the highly talented Brazilian to bare any longer.

"He's been unlucky. He came as cover for injuries and suspensions, but they have cleared and the midfield players have done really well," said McClaren on the reasoning behind his exit.

"He hasn't had the chances he'd hoped for so we've mutually agreed he should move on." Ricardinho was 27 at the time of his Boro release, meaning he was still firmly in the prime years of his career, making his Riverside nightmare only more unthinkable.

Truly one of the most bewildering and strangest transfers in Middlesbrough, and indeed, football history. A World Cup winner with Brazil to representing Middlesbrough's reserves in the space of two years.