Former Brazilian defender Rafael claims that he was forced to leave Manchester United by then boss Louis Van Gaal, and adds that the real reason is that the Dutchman hates Brazilians. Rafael also said that people told him that even before Van Gaal came to Manchester and pointed out at his fragile relationship with Rivaldo at Barcelona, to prove his point. On top of that, Rafael and his twin brother Fabio were disliked by Liverpool legend Steven Gerard, who called them “pr”ks”.Even thou he wasn’t a superstar in Manchester, Rafael was a fairly regular starter before Luis Van Gaal came. And during the next season, the Brazilian was limited to only 11 first team appearances, before being sold to Lyon.“I never got an explanation. When Van Gaal arrived, he just said: “OK, you leave”. He came in with an idea of the players he wanted, and didn’t want, and set about making those changes instantly. He never explained it to me. But I’ve heard a few explanations from other people and, even before he arrived, everyone was telling me, “He hates Brazilians” Rafael told The Athletic.Done deal! Manchester United confirm the capture of Raphael Varane from Real Madrid!To make his point, former Manchester United also mentioned another Brazilian (far better and more popular) who had disagreement with Van Gaal – Rivaldo.“I don’t know if it’s true or not but I heard it started with Rivaldo when Van Gaal was manager of Barcelona. He put Rivaldo on the bench and Rivaldo started speaking badly of him, trying to sack him, you know. After that, they say he started to hate Brazilians: “Those Brazilians love to sack managers”, something like that” said Rafael.But, former coach Van Gaal had a quite reasonable explanation for Rafael’s omission from the team.“You can’t imagine a human being or coach — if he doesn’t think one Brazilian is professional — thinks the same of the rest of the population of Brazil. Rafael was played out of the team by Antonio Valencia. Honestly, he lost the battle with Valencia. I transformed Valencia from a right-winger to a right full-back. Valencia also played as a right full-back after my dismissal for the coach Jose Mourinho, so was my choice a bad one?” asked the Dutchman.The Red Devils want to avoid repeating the ‘De Gea’ sinSomehow, for some reason, the Da Silva twins were not likeable to other footballers as well. In their new shared autobiography, Rafael explained how they could get up people’s noses without even knowing it.“Wayne Rooney told us that Steven Gerrard hated us. He said that Gerrard told him on international duty: ‘Those twins, they are pri**s!’. We never did anything to him but wear a different shade of red. I guess that’s all it takes. And to be honest, I understood what he meant. The feeling was mutual” said Rafael, per Athletic.
