5 Brazilians who played for Manchester United

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
Anderson spent 7 and a half years at Old Trafford

#4 Rafael

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FA Cup sponsored by e.on Fifth Round Derby County v Manchester United
Rafael (right) never quite lived up to his early potential

Much more of a United success story than twin brother Fabio, Rafael arrived at United at the same time as his brother but was able to break into the first team squad a season before Fabio did, as he made 16 Premier League appearances in 2008/09 and was seen as the heir apparent to legend Gary Neville, who was beginning to slow down as his career reached its final point.

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Over the course of the next couple of seasons, Rafael never quite embedded himself into the side as Neville had done, and gained a reputation for being somewhat reckless – largely earned due to his sending off in the 2010 Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich, an incident that some United fans felt cost them the tie.

Following this though he improved, and was a regular performer for the Red Devils until the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in 2012/13 when he appeared to have finally nailed down the right-back slot as his own. But when Ferguson retired, fluctuations in form and various injuries meant that he drifted in and out of the side until he was sold to Lyon in the summer of 2015.

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Edited by Zeeshan Ali
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