Fabio da Silva has revealed how he gravely under-estimated life outside the Premier League after leaving Manchester United.
The defender, along with twin brother Rafael, was a regular part of the squad at United after joining in 2008. He also won senior recognition for Brazil.
His departure from Old Trafford in 2014 saw him leave for Cardiff City. They were then in the Premier League but a sour campaign saw the Bluebirds relegated.
Looking back on the episode, the full-back readily admits that he assumed the second tier would be a cakewalk for him and his colleagues.
But that didn't prove to be the case, with Cardiff slumping to a mid-table finish in their first season back.
Current United chief Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in the hotseat but was axed barely a month into the new campaign.
An extract from the autobiography of Rafael and Fabio now sheds light on how the latter, who spent two-and-a-half years in Wales, under-estimated the challenge faced after relegation.
The extract says: "I thought of myself as above the Championship, but I had only just moved there so instead it was my motivation that was the issue – I focused on my new daughter, which isn’t a bad thing, but I lost discipline with my diet and for the first time I am afraid to say that I did coast through games sometimes.
"I tried, of course, but it wasn’t the same level as it had been in my earlier months. I was lost as a person at a time I should be settled. I wasn’t enjoying football and was even talking to my wife about wanting to go to Brazil and play football back where I could have fun.
"The Championship is a very difficult league. It takes a long time to get used to and you can’t afford to have the attitude I had for those months.
"In the Premier League you know more or less where most teams will finish. You know the top six, you know who will struggle.
"Yes, there are surprises, but let’s say if you pick the top six you’re usually at least guaranteed four or five will be right.
"In the Championship if you do the same I think it’s a swing the other way. You might get two – you’ll be lucky if you get three. Even if you get the top six, you can’t predict the order of the top two.
"It’s crazy how many times you see teams dropping out of the Premier League who then struggle with relegation the next season."
Cardiff finished the season in 11th place and Fabio stuck around for one more campaign, with City falling short of the play-offs again in 2015-16.
He left for the Riverside in the summer of 2016 and spent two seasons there. Now aged 31, his current club is Nantes in France.
The Sunshine Kids: The autobiography of Rafael and Fabio Da Silva is out now via Pitch Publishing.
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