him to attempt to find first team football. Rae left Rangers as a free agent at the end of the 2006–07 season when his contract expired. On 21 May 2007 he was linked with a move to Hearts with his former teammate at Rangers, Stephen Hughes but the move did not come to fruition. Cardiff City Rae was watched by several sides from England, Wales and Scotland and came very close to joining Football League Championship side Norwich City but instead on 23 June 2007 he joined Championship side Cardiff City along with fellow Scotsman Steven MacLean on a free transfer. On 26 June 2007 he was quoted in an interview saying "Believe me, I am coming to Cardiff fully fit and fully committed. I am fired up to make the most of this chance". On his arrival Rae found himself in first team action from the start of the season due to a long-term injury to Riccardo Scimeca and also took over the captaincy for the 2–1 home win against Burnley with Darren Purse starting the match on the bench, Scimeca injured and Stephen McPhail dropped from the side and he scored his first goal for the Bluebirds not long after on 15 September in a 2–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle. He went on to make a total of 55 appearances in all competitions in his first year, more than any other player at the club including playing in all 6 matches during the clubs run to the FA Cup Final. The following season began badly for Rae when, after making just two appearances, he chipped a bone in his leg just below his knee during a 2–1 win over AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup. Rae was told that he could continue playing with the injury if he could withstand the pain, returning to the side after a month out. He went on to appear in 46 matches in all competitions for Cardiff, the second highest amount behind Roger Johnson. Rae started the 2009–10 season on the bench but was handed his first appearance of the year after 45 minutes of the opening game with Joe Ledley suffering from an illness. With Ledley away on international duty, he was handed a start in a 3–1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge in the first round of the Football League Cup and scored the first goal of the game. He