Rafinha (footballer, born April 1993)

Rafael Lima Pereira (born 1 April 1993), commonly known as Rafinha is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Mexican club Cafetaleros as a winger.

Rafinha
Personal information
Full name Rafael Lima Pereira[1]
Date of birth (1993-04-01) 1 April 1993[1]
Place of birth Porto Franco, Brazil[1]
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger[1]
Club information
Current team
club The Strongest
Youth career
Flamengo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2018 Flamengo 21 (0)
2014Bahia (loan) 19 (0)
2015Atlético Goianiense (loan) 7 (0)
2015Daejeon Citizen (loan) 7 (0)
2016Metropolitano (loan) 15 (1)
2017Thai Honda (loan) 26 (5)
2018 Avaí 0 (0)
2019– Cafetaleros 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:21, 25 December 2018 (UTC)

After graduating from the youth team of Flamengo, Rafinha broke into the first team in 2013. After a series of loan deals, he left the club and joined Avaí in 2018.

Club career

Born in Porto Franco, Rafinha represented CFZ, CFZ Brasília and Flamengo as a youth.[2] After winning the 2011 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, he was given the nickname "Neymar da Gávea" (Neymar of Gávea).[1] On 27 February 2013, he was promoted to the main team, signing a deal which would keep him at the club till 2018. His contract termination fee was set at R$130 million (approx £26 million at January 2018) for foreign clubs and R$23 million (approx £5m) for Brazilian clubs. He also thanked Zico, saying that he was grateful to him not only as a player but also as a person.[3] Rafinha's monthly salary was increased from R$3,000 (£660) to R$20,000 (£4,400),[4] a salary hike of 566%.[5]

Rafinha scored his first goal for Fla in a 4–2 victory against Vasco da Gama. He played 44 matches in the season with his side winning the 2013 Copa do Brasil.[1]

On 7 January 2014, Rafinha joined Bahia on a year long loan deal, which saw Feijão moving to the opposite side.[6] In the following January he was loaned to Atlético Goianiense after becoming surplus to Flamengo's requirements.[7] He made his Goiano debut against Anapolina, scoring a goal in the 1–0 victory. However, his form dipped since then and he failed to cement his position in the first team; resulting in the club releasing him on 1 July.[8]

On 4 July 2015, Rafinha was loaned to South Korean club Daejon Citizen.[9] On 23 January 2016, he was loaned to Metropolitano.[10] In 2017, he was loaned off again, this time on a six-month deal to Thai club Thai Honda.[11] On 3 January 2018, Rafinha moved to Avaí.[12]

On 24 December 2018, Rafinha moved abroad and joined Mexican club Cafetaleros.[13]

Career statistics

As of match played on 1 April 2018
Club Season National League State League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Flamengo 2013[14] Série A 21015271433
Bahia (loan) 2014[14] Série A 190601134[lower-alpha 1]0343
Atlético Goianiense (loan) 2015[14] Série A 7014340253
Daejeon Citizen (loan) 2015[14] K League Classic 700070
Metropolitano (loan) 2016[14] Catarinense A1 15100151
Thai Honda (loan) 2017[14] Thai League T1 26500265
Avaí 2018[14] Série B 00800080
Career total 8055862244016415
  1. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana

Honours

Flamengo

References

  1. "Bahia anuncia o atacante Rafinha" [Bahia announces striker Rafinha] (in Portuguese). Goal. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. "Atacante Rafinha é o primeiro reforço do Avaí para 2018" [Rafinha is the first reinforcement of Avaí for 2018] (in Portuguese). CBN Diario. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. "Fla assina com Rafinha, e multa para clubes de fora é de R$ 130 milhões" [Fla signs with Rafinha, and fine for clubs outside is $ 130 million] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. "Rafinha assina renovação com o Fla até 2018; multa rescisória é de R$ 130 milhões" [Rafinha signs renewal with Fla until 2018; termination fine is R $ 130 million] (in Portuguese). Esporte. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  5. "Novo xodó do Fla, Rafinha tem aumento de 566% no salário em um mês e ganha até funk" [New Flavio, Rafinha has 566% increase in salary in one month and earns up funk] (in Portuguese). UOL. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. "Rafinha é o novo reforço" [Rafinha is the new reinforcement] (in Portuguese). Esporte Clube Bahia. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  7. "Ex-atacante do Bahia, Rafinha vai para o Atlético-GO" [Former striker from Bahia, Rafinha goes to Atlético-GO] (in Portuguese). Correio 24 Horas. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  8. "Atlético-GO devolve Rafinha ao Flamengo" [Atlético-GO returns Rafinha to Flamengo] (in Portuguese). Falando de Flamengo. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. "De volta ao Fla, Rafinha é emprestado para o Daejeon Citizen, da Coreia" [Back in the Fla, Rafinha is loaned to the Daejeon Citizen of Korea] (in Portuguese). Terra. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. "Por empréstimo junto ao Flamengo, Metrô contrata o atacante Rafinha" [On loan to Flamengo, Metrô hires striker Rafinha] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  11. "Flamengo empresta Rafinha ao Thai Honda FC" [Flamengo lends Rafinha to Thai Honda FC] (in Portuguese). Fla Resenha. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  12. "Apresentados reforços para a temporada" [Reinforcements presented for the season] (in Portuguese). Avaí Futebol Clube. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  13. "Atacante Rafinha, ex-Flamengo, é anunciado como reforço pelo Cafetaleros, do México" [Rafinha striker, former Flamengo, is announced as reinforcement by Cafetaleros, Mexico] (in Portuguese). Extra. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  14. "Rafinha". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
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