Rafael reveals he hated Man united player and ‘isn’t ashamed to say it’

'I’ve already had a fight with him'

The 33-year-old spent seven years at United, joining in 2008, where he won three Premier League titles and two League Cup's during his time at Old Trafford.

Now at Botafogo in his homeland of Brazil, the defender opened up on his time at United in which he explained his animosity towards one certain player.

Speaking to SporTV, Rafael revealed that Carlos Tevez was the man in question as he recalled how the forward would treat younger members of the squad "badly".

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."

Rafael famously squared up to Tevez during the Manchester derby in 2010 just months after the forward left United to join their city rivals.

"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," he explained.

"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.

"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."

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