Moenchengladbach snap up Brazilian Raffael

Borussia Moenchengladbach have snapped up Brazilian midfielder Raffael from under the noses of Bundesliga rivals Schalke 04, the club announced on Thursday.

Raffael, 28, was loaned to Schalke by Dynamo Kiev in the January transfer window with a view to a permanent move, but he has now put pen to paper on a four-year deal with Borussia.

The key factor which swayed his decision appears to be the chance to link up again with Swiss coach Lucien Favre, who he played under at FC Zurich and again at Hertha Berlin.

“I owe him a great deal. He supported me at Zurich and then took me to Berlin and I want to repay his confidence in me,” Raffael was reported as saying on the club website.

“By signing Raffael we have added a versatile and skilful new player, but the transfer was very complicated and that makes us even happier to have clinched it,” Moenchengladbach sporting director Max Ebrl said.

Raffael joined Kiev for eight million euros from Hertha last summer after four seasons with the club, who were relegated to the German second division.