Rafael ‘lost love for football’ under Van Gaal at United

Rafael: Never felt wanted by Louis van Gaal

Rafael: Never felt wanted by Louis van Gaal

Former Manchester United full-back Rafael has admitted his love of the game suffered under Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.

The Lyon defender was allowed to leave United for just £2.5million in August after only featuring 11 times for the club under Van Gaal last season.

Rafael admits he remains unhappy at how his seven-year association with Manchester United came to an end – but insists he’s happy to have made the move to Ligue 1 with Lyon.

“Consistency is everything in football. You get games, you feel better,” he said.

“You enjoy it more and your fitness is better. When you’ve not played for a long time it’s very hard for the player.

“When Van Gaal arrived I could see I wasn’t in the plan. When you’re a player you can feel it, you can see that.

“The 10 games I played I thought I played very well apart from Leicester [a 5-3 away defeat]. It’s hard to know.

“I had some choices to go in England, but in the end I wanted to try something different. It’s good to challenge yourself.”

Rafael was speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash between PSG and Lyon.

Rafael also questioned Van Gaal’s style of play at United and implored the manager to start entertaining supporters.

“To be honest I didn’t really enjoy to play when Van Gaal was there,” he added.

“Everyone is different. Results matter so if they can win the league it will be a different story.

“I like to enjoy myself, to try things and do stuff. Last year I wasn’t doing that.

“I watch them play and I’ve heard some things as well… But it’s hard. Football is for the fans. They want to see good football.”