Rafinha

Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza (born 7 September 1985), commonly known as Rafinha ("Little Rafa"), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for São Paulo.

He is known as a skilled defender with good passing skills, quick pace, agility and a strong shot.

He has earned four caps with the Brazil national team.

By age 12, he had begun training with PSTC, a local football club, before signing for Londrina Esporte Clube in 2000 at the age of 15.

At the end of his second year with Londrina, Rafinha was signed by Coritiba.

This meant moving hundreds of kilometers from his home town, but it also allowed Rafinha to display his talents on the national stage.

For Coritiba, Rafinha made 23 appearances in the 2004 season and scored three goals in 13 appearances in the 2005 season.

At Coritiba, Rafinha eventually found his way into the Brazil under-20 national team and played in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.

During the tournament, he scored two goals and played an integral part in Brazil's progress to the bronze medal.

Rafinha's performance at the tournament alerted numerous European teams to his ability, with German club Schalke 04 ultimately signing the right-back from Coritiba for an estimated €5 million on a four-year contract.

At Schalke, he made 42 appearances in 2005–06 season, two goals in 35 appearances in the 2006–07 season, five goals in 46 appearances in the 2007–08 season, two goals in 40 appearances in the 2008–09 season, and two goals in 35 appearances in the 2009–10 season.

On 4 August 2010, it was confirmed that Rafinha moved from Schalke to Italian side Genoa.

The transfer had cost Genoa €8 million.

He scored two goals in 34 appearances in his only Serie A season.

After Genoa had failed to pay the transfer fee in time, however, Rafinha's former club Schalke sued Genoa through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

On 1 June 2011, Bayern Munich confirmed Rafinha's transfer from Genoa on the same day that they signed his former Schalke teammate Manuel Neuer.

Rafinha signed a three-year contract, and reports say Bayern paid €5.75 million for him.

He scored his first goal for Bayern against Villarreal, as a substitute in a 2–0 UEFA Champions League win on 14 September 2011.

He finished the 2011–12 season with a goal in 35 appearances.

Entering as an 83rd-minute substitute on 20 October 2012 during an away match against Fortuna Düsseldorf, he scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern in a 5–0 win.

He played a total of 13 Bundesliga games throughout the season, adding another goal on 13 April in a 4–0 win over 1. FC Nürnberg.

He finished the 2012–13 season with two goals in 17 appearances.

During the 2013–14 season, after fellow right back Philipp Lahm was moved to defensive midfield, Rafinha found more opportunities to play regularly.

He made 46 appearances across all competitions, including the entire DFB-Pokal final in which Bayern secured a second consecutive double after defeating Borussia Dortmund.

He finished the 2014–15 season with 41 appearances.

Since 2015, he has the German citizenship.

Rafinha began his football career at the age of seven, playing for Gremio Londrinense, a futsal team from his home town of Londrina, Paraná.

He started the 2015–16 season by coming in as a substitute for Robert Lewandowski in the 72nd minute of the German Super Cup.

He finished the 2015–16 season with 34 appearances.

He started the 2016–17 season by coming in as a substitute for Thomas Müller in the 87th minute of the German Super Cup.

He finished the 2016–17 season with a goal in 28 appearances.

He started the 2017–18 season by starting in the German Super Cup.

He finished the 2017–18 season with a goal in 39 appearances.

Rafinha was an unused substitute in the German Super Cup.

He made his first appearance of the 2018–19 season in the German Cup.

He started the match and played the full 90 minutes.

He finished the 2018–19 season with a goal in 26 appearances.

On 9 June 2019, Flamengo confirmed Rafinha's transfer from Bayern Munich.

Rafinha signed a two-year contract.

On 23 August 2020, Rafinha joined Olympiacos after signing a one-plus-one-year contract.