RAFAEL DREAMS PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN

Brazilian defender Rafael da Silva still has hopes of making a return to the Premier League as revealed by the player in a recent interview with Sky Sports. According to him, it would be amazing to play Premier League football once again.

Rafael da Silva recently returned to his native Brazil to sign for Botafogo in the second tier. He had spent over a decade playing in European football in the colours of teams such as Manchester United, Istanbul Basaksehirand Lyon.

Brazilian international Rafael da Silva spent the best part of his time in Europe at Manchester United where he became a cult hero amongst due to his fearless nature. The fullback joined the first team squad at Manchester United when he turned 18 in the summer of 2008 alongside his twin brother, Fabio da Silva. Both Rafael and Fabio had earlier joined theRed Devils from Fluminense and they could not feature for the first team until they turned 18.

Rafael da Silva spent seven years with the Manchester United first team before leaving for Lyon in the French Ligue 1 in 2015. He had to leave the Red Devils after Dutchman Louis Van Gaal was appointed manager. Rafael spent one seasonunder Van Gaal before he left for Lyon.

In a recent interview, Rafael da Silva likened the managerial era under Van Gaal to a military regime and he expressed his displeasure for the experienced manager’s time at Old Trafford.
Rafael spent five years at Lyon until he left the club at the end of his contract last summer. He then joined Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super League as a free agent. At Istanbul Basaksehir, Rafael was able to play against Manchester United in the Champions League group stage last season. He was in the Istanbul Basaksehir starting XI when they stunned the Red Devils via a 2-1 scoreline at home. He also played in the return leg which ended in a 4-1 win for the Red Devils.