Rafael and Fabio da Silva recalled their days playing together at Manchester United and how they hit some people up the wrong way.
An extremely popular duo with Manchester United fans, Rafael and Fabio da Silva, the Brazilian twins who arrived in England as 18-year-olds in 2008, struck up enemies along the way.
Passionate fans of the club after enjoying their spell playing across Alex Ferguson's final years at the club, there is that famous picture of Rafael vs Carlos Tevez to begin with.
The Argentine striker who had left United for Manchester City, Rafael reveled in such rivalry.
Speaking to The Athletic about the release of their new shared autobiography, Rafael explained how they could get up people's noses without even knowing it.
"Wayne Rooney told us that Steven Gerrard hated us," he explained. "He said that Gerrard told him on international duty, ‘Those twins, they are pricks!’.
"We never did anything to him but wear a different shade of red. I guess that’s all it takes. And to be honest, I understood what he meant. The feeling was mutual."
A Premier League winner in 2010/11, Fabio da Silva departed United to join Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Cardiff City. Meanwhile, his brother ran up 170 appearances for United across seven seasons with the club.
Happy to remain at the club after Ferguson retired, the unexpected departure of David Moyes lead to an uncomfortable encounter with Louis van Gaal.
"I never got an explanation," Rafael explained of his own departure from Old Trafford in 2015. "When Van Gaal arrived, he just said: ‘OK, you leave’.
"He came in with an idea of the players he wanted, and didn’t want, and set about making those changes instantly."
Although some have claimed that van Gaal had an innate dislike for Brazilian players linking all the way back to a falling out he had had with Rivaldo at Barcelona, the Dutch manager refutes this.
"[Rafael] was played out of the team by Antonio Valencia," van Gaal told The Athletic. "Honestly, he lost the battle with Valencia. I transformed Valencia from a right-winger to a right full-back.
"Valencia also played as a right full-back after my dismissal for the coach Jose Mourinho, so was my choice a bad one?"
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