A former Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford has claimed that ex-Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal wanted him “out of the football club.”
Louis van Gaal left the Netherlands national team for the second time after the 2014 World Cup and arrived at Old Trafford as Manchester United manager.
David Moyes initially succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 and was later sacked as United manager in 2014 after an ill-fated spell at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal finished his first season at United without a trophy, but the Red Devils did finish fourth in the Premier League table and returned to the Champions League.
The 73-year-old former Ajax and Barcelona manager oversaw a disappointing 2015-16 campaign in the Premier League and United finished outside of the top four.
Despite United’s fifth-place finish in 2016, Van Gaal signed off the season on a high note after his side defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 in the 2016 FA Cup final at Wembley.
However, the FA Cup was not enough to save Van Gaal’s reign at Old Trafford and the former United manager was sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
Rafael da Silva reveals what happened with Louis van Gaal at Man Utd
Rafael da Silva first arrived at Manchester United in 2008 after Sir Alex Ferguson signed him and twin brother Fabio from Brazilian side Fluminense in 2008.
The 34-year-old Brazilian right-back lifted three Premier League titles and a League Cup under Ferguson before the legendary former United manager retired in 2013.
Rafael da Silva often featured sporadically in the United first team and the ex-Red Devils defender made 170 appearances for the club during his time at Old Trafford.
However, the former Brazil international was deemed surplus to requirement after Louis van Gaal replaced David Moyes in the Old Trafford hot seat in 2014.
Speaking on Van Gaal, Rafael told FourFourTwo magazine: “Absolutely, without a doubt. He was the worst coach I’ve ever worked with in my career – no question about it.
“I’ll tell you the reason why: he just looked me in the face and said, ‘I don’t like you.’
“Can you believe it? The guy wanted me out of the football club on his second day in the job.
“I ended up playing a few games, but only because Ryan Giggs and some other senior names begged him to let me play.”
How Louis van Gaal’s decision led to Rafael da Silva leaving Man Utd and signing for Lyon
Rafael da Silva recalled that Van Gaal’s decision to put him in the United reserves led to him catching the eye of Lyon and the Brazilian signed for the French side in 2015.
“Van Gaal stuck me in the reserves with the youngsters,” he added.
“Florian Maurice, who was a scout for Lyon, had come to watch a game because he wanted to analyse Andreas Pereira closely.
“It was a match against Tottenham and I scored a goal from distance – a beautiful lob.
“I played very well that day and Lyon invited me over. Florian said, ‘I was planning to sign Andreas, but when I saw you playing, I thought we needed you instead.’
“And that’s how I moved to Lyon. It’s funny to think how the little details change the fate of things.”
Rafael went on to play regular first-team football for Lyon before he left the Ligue 1 club in 2020 and signed for Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir.
The former United star returned to his native homeland in 2021 and signed for Botafogo before both he and his twin brother retired in 2024.
Van Gaal, on the other hand, later returned for a third managerial spell with the Netherlands before he retired as a manager after the 2022 World Cup.
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