What Manchester United players sent to Rafael after Lyon defeated Man City

Rafael Da Silva sealed his place in the hearts of Manchester United fans when he celebrated wildly after Lyon inflicted an unlikely Manchester City defeat in the Champions League in September.

The Blues were beaten by Ligue 1 with former players United, Rafael and Memphis Depay, both at the Etihad poster.

And Rafael has now explained the reason for his celebrations after the 2-1 win over Pep Guardiola's team.

"I celebrated because it was a very important win in the first game of the Champions League. It's always important to start a tournament well, "Rafael told ESPN Brasil.

"It's City, I was a United player and I was young when I started young there. I consider myself a Manchester boy after playing and I owe almost everything to United and Fluminense. My professional career started there and it was great to win.

The surprise defeat of a city team that had just recorded a record 100 points in last season's victory over the Premier League title sparked a lot of joy among United fans , and the old players were just as happy to see the Blues brought to the surface.

And Darren Fletcher, former United midfielder, was among the first to congratulate the Brazilian.

"They congratulated me for the victory," said Rafael. "We have a Whatsapp group and they sent messages.

"Fletcher has sent one on behalf of the players I am still friends with.

"He's a guy I love and who helped me in my stay there, they were very happy for me, everyone knows that I'm a fan of Manchester United and beat Manchester City is always good as well."

Rafael left Old Trafford for Lyon in 2015 after seven years at the club. His lack of opportunities under Louis van Gaal contributed to his decision to move to Ligue 1.

"I think what weighed for me here is that with Van Gaal, I did not play a lot," he added.

"I was not going to play with him for a while, it was clear that he was not going to use it.

"Sometimes I trained well, but I still did not participate in the games and he clearly said he wanted me to go.

"It weighed heavily, then Lyon is a big club, one of the biggest in France, which has a history with the Brazilians."