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Rafael Da Silva seriously considered defecting from Brazil to play for England before the controversial “nationality” debate exploded around Adnan Januzaj, his Manchester United team-mate.Rafael, who could be eligible to represent England under a five-year residency rule, told his United team-mates in September that he was mulling over the idea of declaring his allegiance for his adopted country.
Although the defender, 23, has played twice in friendlies for Brazil and represented his country’s under-23 team at the Olympic Games in London last year, he could qualify for England on the grounds that he has spent at least five years at United — whom he joined from Fluminense in 2008 — though Fifa would have to ratify the move.
The idea is thought to have been floated to Rafael by a third party and initially appealed to the right back, who is eager to play in the World Cup in his homeland next summer.
Yet only weeks after mentioning it to team-mates, the debate over dual or split nationalities took on new life when it emerged that the FA hoped to persuade Januzaj, United’s teenage winger, to represent England.
Rafael, who also has Portuguese citizenship and had previously indicated an interest in representing Portugal, opted not to pursue the England option and will instead try to force his way into Brazil’s World Cup squad.
The FA is known to be exploring in depth the issue of dual and split nationalities but, unlike Januzaj, the Rafael case is not thought to be one they were pursuing.
Januzaj is already eligible to represent Belgium, Albania, Turkey and Serbia. Nonetheless, the FA is hoping to persuade him to play for England eventually. Fifa rules state a player is eligible if “he has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association.”
Januzaj joined United in 2011 but only turned 18 in February so if the rules were strictly applied the player would have to wait until 2018 to represent England, provided he remained in the country.
