London: Rafael da Silva  has claimed Louis van Gaal “didn’t like” him, and called Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from Manchester United “fatal” to his Old Trafford career. Rafael moved to Ligue 1 Lyon last week for £2.5mn after seven years at United, having made just six league starts under Van Gaal.
Asked about the manager’s reported dislike of Brazilian players, he told Brazil’s Globo Esporte: “I know about his history, but there’s no way I can say, ‘Oh, the guy does not like Brazilians’ … I know he didn’t like me, but if it’s because I am Brazilian, I do not know.
 “It was not just me he didn’t like. He also told other players they could leave. There’s no way I can judge if he does not like Brazilians.”
Rafael admitted his career was stalled by Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit in May 2013, saying: “In 2012/13 I played almost every game, it was my best season in Manchester, and we won the championship. And then the coach changed. That change was fatal to me.
“It was all coming good, then Ferguson left. Valencia starting playing at right-back for Van Gaal. He’s also a great player, but I was doing well in that position.”
Asked about his three coaches at Old Trafford, Rafael said: “I had a very good relationship with Ferguson, he helped me a lot in Manchester, and I did everything to help him … After that, any coach who came in was going to be complicated. I can’t speak much of a relationship with [David] Moyes because it was little less than a year. And with Van Gaal the relationship was normal. He had his own options and choices… I always respected him.”
Rafael said the final decision to leave had been a difficult one. “It was. I was in Manchester for eight years, I’d been there since I was 17. I know everyone, I like a lot of people there. It’s hard when you reach a stage when you aren’t playing and you have to leave. But football is like that, we learn about life. We go forward.”