Rafael Wants New Manchester United Contract

Manchester United’s full-back Rafael is trying to get the top echelons at Old Trafford to a round table talk about a possible contract extension according to goal.com. Since the retirement of Garry Neville, the Brazilian has evolved into a versatile right full-back for the Red Devils but even after featuring over 100 times for the Old Trafford outfit, Louis van Gaal is still unconvinced that the Fluminense defender is still worthy of the regular shirt he currently enjoys at the club. As such the manager might not be willing to commit to another contract just yet but it is certain that he will not allow the Brazilian use up the remaining two years of his contract before he gets an extension.

Louis van Gaal’s reservations about the defender might be due to the incessant injury worries that had hampered Rafael’s run of form over the years as the defender has only managed about 35 games over a span of 3 years.

For most of the summer, the club had been continuously linked with Fioretina’s Juan Cuadrado and in fact until recently Barcelona’s Dani Alves. Although the Juan Caudrado deal seems to have been blown off as the winger is now poised to commit his future to the Florence based club. Rafael is just 24-years-old and as such fits well into the rebuilding process going on at the club and with the level of brilliance he currently shows, there is little doubt that he would make his marks.

Another school of thought is that Manchester United may not be willing to match the new wage structure that the defender might demand but as of now, he is the best that the club has in that position and unless they plan to bring him a competition by January, then they should be ready to consider a worthy package for the player. Since they can pay Luke Shaw a whopping £120,000/week, how much more a player whose bustling energy is something Manchester United have been relying on since the exits of John O’Shea and Wesley Brown.

Rafael surely has more to learn because he appears to be still battling with his youthful exuberance but he has about 6 more years to play for the club and as such, he should still be afforded time. Over the years, he maintained a steady rise in personal development despite the many injuries that threatened his career and this was probably what Sir Alex Ferguson saw when he decided to retain him at the time when his twin was offloaded.

However, if the Dutch boss is still unconvinced, then the Brazilian must step up his game and prove to his boss that he deserves the spot he currently occupies.