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Manchester United and Olympique Lyonnais have confirmed that they have reached an agreement over the transfer of Brazilian right-back Rafael da Silva. The 25-year-old will sign a four-year contract with the French side with Sky Sports reporting the transfer fee as £2.5 million.
A statement on Lyon's website read: "Olympique Lyonnais informs of an agreement with Manchester United for the transfer of Brazilian international Rafael Da Silva, who will sign in the coming days a four-year contract with OL, ie until June 30, 2019."
Rafael, who has two caps for the national team, will be officially presented as a Lyon player before the end of the week, the press release stated. He completed his medical on Monday and has already taken part in a training session with his new teammates.
Rafael joined United in 2008 along with twin brother Fabio from Fluminense and made 170 appearances for the club, scoring five goals. He won eight trophies in as many years with the Red Devils, including three Premier League titles, one League Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008.
However, he fell out of favour with United manager Louis van Gaal, who preferred Antonio Valencia as his first-choice for the right-back slot. Injuries didn’t help his cause either as he made just 11 appearances in all competitions last season.
With United signing Italian defender Matteo Darmian this summer, Rafael was going to get even less match time and he has now decided to leave Old Trafford. The Brazilian was a fan favourite among the United faithful and he took to social media to thank the supporters.
I want to thank Manchester United fans for all the love during those 8 years. Since I signed with the club I lived...
Posted by Rafael da Silva on Monday, August 3, 2015
