Rafael da Silva has explained why he "never liked" former Manchester United teammate Carlos Tevez during the two years they spent together at Old Trafford.
The 33-year-old full-back, who currently plays for Brazilian Serie A side Botafogo, spent seven trophy-laden years at United between 2008 and 2015.
He lifted three Premier League titles and two League Cup's during his spell in Manchester, and made over 100 appearances after arriving from Fluminense with his twin brother, Fabio.
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Eight years on from his time at United and the experienced Brazilian has opened up about his fractured relationship with Tevez in a recent interview with Brazilian outlet SporTV.
Speaking about the former West Ham and Manchester City forward, Rafael claims Tevez picked on younger players in the United squad and a result of treating them "badly", he grew to dislike the Argentine.
"I’m not a fan of Tevez, not as a player," he said via Sport Witness. "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.
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"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 2010 derby, just months after the Argentine made the four-mile trip across Manchester to join their local 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 added.
The Brazilian has previously opened up about that clash with Tevez, saying: "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.
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"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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Featured Image Credit: Getty Images - Manchester UnitedTopics: Carlos Tevez, Manchester City, Manchester United, Premier League
