Rafael has described Louis van Gaal has “one of the worst” coaches he’s ever worked with, insisting that the ex-Manchester United boss didn’t give him a chance at Old Trafford.
United turned to the Champions League winner who had previously coached Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands after sacking David Moyes towards the end of the 2013-14 campaign.
Moyes failed to pick up from where Sir Alex Ferguson left off at the end of his glorious 27-year reign at Old Trafford, and Van Gaal was seen as a safer pair of hands due to his impressive CV and extensive experience of coaching at the highest level.
The Brazilian full-back told The Athletic: “When they said Van Gaal was the manager, a lot of friends called me. I could not believe it, as a lot of people told me he does not like Brazilians because of their style of play. They told me, ‘The first thing he is going to do is take you out.’ Actually, it was the second thing because on the first day, he did not speak to me.
“On the second day, he said, ‘You can leave.’ I had not even trained and he said that. I could not believe it. Ryan Giggs tried to defend me a lot. I spoke with him and I could not understand it because I had not even had a chance to show my football to Van Gaal in training.
“He just came and said, ‘You can leave.’ He did not explain why. He said, ‘You will not play this season, I am not going to use you, if you want to leave, you leave.’ I said, ‘OK.’ I still tried to battle for my place. I stayed one year with him. It was so, so hard. He is one of the worst people I have worked with.”