The arrival of 17-year-old Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael da Silva to Manchester United in 2008 was one of the more unusual transfers of that era at Old Trafford.
Neither had played for the Fluminense first-team when they moved across the Atlantic, with the British press quickly dubbing the pair ‘the Brazilian Neville brothers’, while much was made of the young pair’s speed and attacking potential.
Fabio would make just 22 Premier League appearances for Manchester United during a five-year stint which included a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers, before he left the club for good in 2013 to sign for Cardiff City, while Rafael enjoyed a more fruitful spell at Old Trafford.
Rafael on his instant falling out with Louis van Gaal
He would turn out 170 times in all competitions over a seven-year span, but the arrival of Louis van Gaal – ranked at No.20 on FourFourTwo’s list of the 100 best managers ever – as boss in 2014 marked the beginning of the end.
Rafael’s minutes dried up under the Dutchman, with the defender admitting that he endured a tougher time with the former Ajax and Barcelona boss.
“Absolutely, without a doubt,” Rafael tells FourFourTwo. “He was the worst coach I’ve ever worked with in my career – no question about it. I’ll tell you the reason why: he just looked me in the face and said, “I don’t like you.”
“Can you believe it? The guy wanted me out of the football club on his second day in the job. I ended up playing a few games, but only because Ryan Giggs and some other senior names begged him to let me play.”
Rafael crossed the channel to join Lyon at the end of Van Gaal’s first season with the Red Devils, a move which came about almost by accident.
“Van Gaal stuck me in the reserves with the youngsters,” he continues. “Florian Maurice, who was a scout for Lyon, had come to watch a game because he wanted to analyse Andreas Pereira closely. It was a match against Tottenham and I scored a goal from distance – a beautiful lob.
“I played very well that day and Lyon invited me over. Florian said, “I was planning to sign Andreas, but when I saw you playing, I thought we needed you instead.” And that’s how I moved to Lyon. It’s funny to think how the little details change the fate of things.”
After five years in France, Rafael spent a year in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir, before moving back to Brazil and seeing out his playing days with Botafogo, adding a Brazilian championship and a Copa Libertadores win to a career that saw him win three Premier Leagues and a League Cup with Manchester United.
