Having completed his move to Lyon, former Manchester United right-back, Rafael da Silva, has claimed that Louis Van Gaal did not like him at the club while commenting that Sir Alex Fergusona s retirement was a fatala for his career.
The Brazilian recently concluded his move to Lyon after falling down the pecking order at Manchester United as Valencia was given the green light by Louis Van Gaal to play in the right-back position. His departure was further hastened by the arrival of Matteo Darmian from Torino who joined the club alongside the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin.
Van Gaal didnt like me at Manchester United
Speaking with Globo Esporte, Rafael claimed that Louis Van Gaal did not like him at Manchester United but refused to attribute it to the Dutchmana s reputation for not liking Brazilians in general.
“I know this history that he doesn’t like Brazilians, but I can’t say: ‘Oh, he doesn’t like Brazilians.’a
“I know that he didn’t like me, but if that’s because I’m Brazilian, I don’t know.”
Louis Van Gaal famously fell out with Rivaldo at Barcelona with both parties flinging accusations at each other. The Dutchman also parted ways with Lucio acrimoniously with the Brazilian later accusing the then Bayern Munich manager of lacking respect.
Fergusona s retirement was fatal for my career
Rafael singled out former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for being instrumental in his career. He deemed Fergusona s last season in charge as his most successful and claimed that his departure was fatal for his career as he eventually lost his place in the starting team to Antonio Valencia.
“In 2012-13 I played almost every game, it was my best season at United, we were even champions. And that’s when they changed the manager. That change was fatal for me.a
“Valencia started playing as a right-back for Van Gaal. He’s also a great player, but I was doing well in that position.a
Rafael enjoyed a highly successful season under Sir Alex Ferguson where he clocked 2313 minutes in the Premier League while providing 3 goals and 4 assists. In stark comparison, he played for only 592 minutes under Louis Van Gaal before moving to Lyon. However, the Brazilian also suffered a series of injuries during his final spell at Manchester United, allowing Antonio Valencia to establish himself as Van Gaala s first choice right-back in the starting eleven.
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