Rafael Silva (footballer, born 1992)

For another Brazilian footballer of the same name, see Rafael (footballer, born 1990).

Rafael da Silva (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁafaˈew dɐ ˈsiwvɐ]; born 4 April 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Série A club Cruzeiro.

Rafael Silva

Personal information
Full name	Rafael da Silva[1]
Date of birth	(1992-04-04) 4 April 1992 (age 33)[1]
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Cruzeiro
Number	8
Youth career
	Corinthians
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012	Coritiba	7	(0)
2013–2014	Lugano	29	(12)
2014–2016	Albirex Niigata	47	(19)
2017	Urawa Red Diamonds	25	(12)
2018–2022	Wuhan Zall	42	(31)
2022	Cruzeiro	16	(6)
2023	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	25	(3)
2024–	Cruzeiro	8	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:15, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Rafael was born in São Paulo.^{[citation needed]}

Club career

Rafael Silva started his professional football career with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Coritiba in the 2012 league season. He would make his debut on 8 April 2012 against Cianorte in the Campeonato Paranaense in a 3–1 victory.^[2] This would be followed by his first goal for the club on 29 April 2012 against Roma Apucarana in the Campeonato Paranaense in a 3–1 win.^[3]

Rafael joined Albirex Niigata in August 2014 from Swiss Challenge League club Lugano.^[4] He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 away loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima on 20 September 2014.^[5] He scored his first goal for the club against Kawasaki Frontale on 5 October. After three seasons with Albirex Niigata he would move to another Japanese club in Urawa Red Diamonds where in his debut season he immediately established himself as a vital member of the team that went on to win the 2017 AFC Champions League.^[6]

On 3 February 2018, Rafael transferred to second tier Chinese football club Wuhan Zall.^[7] He would make his debut and score his first goal for the club on 11 March 2018 in a league game against Shanghai Shenxin in a 1–0 victory.^[8] He would go on to establish himself as a vital member of the team and he would win the division as well as gaining promotion at the end of the 2018 China League One campaign.^[9]

Career statistics

As of match played on 14 May 2023^[10][11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			State League		National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Coritiba	2012	Série A	7	0	2[a]	1	3	0	–		–		–		12	1
	2013		0	0	8[a]	0	–		–		0	0	–		8	0
	Total		7	0	10	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
Lugano	2013–14	Swiss Challenge League	26	9	–		1	0	–		–		–		27	9
	2014–15		3	3	–		0	0	–		–		–		3	3
	Total		29	12	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	12
Albirex Niigata	2014	J1 League	7	1	–		0	0	–		–		–		7	1
	2015		17	7	–		2	1	9	2	–		–		28	10
	2016		23	11	–		0	0	2	0	–		–		25	11
	Total		47	19	0	0	2	1	11	2	0	0	0	0	60	22
Urawa Red Diamonds	2017	J1 League	25	12	–		1	0	2	0	11	9	3	0	42	21
Wuhan Zall	2018	China League One	23	22	–		0	0	–		–		–		23	22
	2019	Chinese Super League	15	8	–		0	0	–		–		–		15	8
	2020		0	0	–		0	0	–		–		0[b]	0	0	0
	2021		4	1	–		0	0	–		–		–		4	1
	Total		42	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	42	31
Cruzeiro	2022	Série B	16	6	–		2	0	–		–		–		18	6
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2023	K League 1	10	1	–		0	0	–		0	0	–		10	1
Career total			176	81	10	1	9	1	13	2	11	9	3	0	221	94

1. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paranaense
2. Appearance(s) in CSL Relegation play-offs

Honours

Club

Coritiba

• Campeonato Paranaense: 2012, 2013

Urawa Red Diamonds

• AFC Champions League: 2017

Wuhan Zall

• China League One: 2018^[12]