Rafael Lima Pereira (born 1 April 1993), commonly known as Rafinha is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Mexican club Cafetaleros as a winger. After graduating from the youth team of

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

, Rafinha broke into the first team in 2013. After a series of loan deals, he left the club and joined

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

in 2018.

Club career

Born in Porto Franco, Rafinha represented CFZ, CFZ Brasília and

as a youth. After winning the 2011 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, he was given the nickname "Neymar da Gávea" (

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (; born 5 February 1992), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...

Gávea Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists. ...

). 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. Rafinha's monthly salary was increased from R$3,000 (£660) to R$20,000 (£4,400), a salary hike of 566%. Rafinha scored his first goal for ''Fla'' in a 4–2 victory against

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. He played 44 matches in the season with his side winning the 2013 Copa do Brasil. On 7 January 2014, Rafinha joined

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

on a year long loan deal, which saw Feijão moving to the opposite side. In the following January he was loaned to

Atlético Goianiense Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

after becoming surplus to Flamengo's requirements. 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. On 4 July 2015, Rafinha was loaned to South Korean club Daejon Citizen. On 23 January 2016, he was loaned to

Metropolitano Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem for the operation of commuter rail services i ...

. In 2017, he was loaned off again, this time on a six-month deal to Thai club Thai Honda. On 3 January 2018, Rafinha moved to

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

Career statistics

Honours

;Flamengo *

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafinha footballer 1993 04 1993 births Living people Men's association football forwards Brazilian men's footballers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players CR Flamengo footballers Esporte Clube Bahia players Club Athletico Paranaense players Clube Atlético Metropolitano players Avaí FC players K League 1 players Daejeon Hana Citizen players Thai Honda F.C. players Ascenso MX players Cafetaleros de Chiapas footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen