Rafael says he is not ‘ashamed’ to admit that he ‘never liked’ former Man Utd teammate

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Former Manchester United star Rafael has candidly opened up on an ex-Red Devils teammate who he “never liked” and has “never been a fan” of him.

Rafael was brought to Old Trafford alongside twin brother Fabio by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008, with the Brazilian enjoying a successful stint at United.

The 33-year-old full-back, who currently plays for Brazilian side Botafogo, made 170 appearances for the Red Devils and scored five times and registered 15 assists.

Rafael lifted three Premier League titles and two League Cups with United before he left the Red Devils in 2015 and signed for French side Lyon.

The ex-United right-back played with a plethora of talented players at the Premier League club, but Rafael admitted that one ex-teammate rubbed him the wrong way.

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Rafael speaks out on Carlos Tevez

Rafael played alongside Carlos Tevez after the former Argentine forward arrived at Old Trafford in 2007 as part of a loan deal from West Ham.

Tevez was part of United’s famed attacking trio alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo during his brief — and successful — spell at Old Trafford.

The 39-year-old former Hammers player later shocked United fans when he snubbed the chance to sign for the club permanently and instead moved to Manchester City.

Rafael has no love lost for Tevez and even clashed with his ex-United teammate in a 0-0 Manchester derby in 2010, with referee Chris Foy forced to separate the pair.

Speaking to SporTV (via Sport Witness), he said: “I’m not a fan of Tevez, not as a player.

“I’ve already had a fight with him. The game against City, he’d left United. I’ve never been a fan of his because Tevez liked to rubbish new players.

“I’m not ashamed to say, I don’t like him. He did a lot to young players. He treated the youngsters badly at United.

“He was always very respectful, but he really picked on the youngsters there, so I never liked him. He left United for City.

“The fight happened, I hit him. The referee gave a foul, I did like this to get him off, he pushed me and it started.”

Rafael on debry confrontation with Tevez

Rafael has previously spoken openly about Tevez after the former Argentina international’s 2009 move to City and his altercation in the 2010 derby.

The Botafogo player admitted that his love for United and Tevez’s apparent lack of it for the Red Devils is the key difference between them.

“I wouldn’t like to criticise anyone who does this, but personally, I think that when you have a certain identity with one team and then go to a rival, well, I wouldn’t do that,” Rafael told the Republik of Mancunia in 2019.

“Maybe because I liked Man United so much and for him, perhaps, he did not have this same feeling, so maybe that’s the difference.”