Career
He plays as a striker. In 2011, Rafael signed for Bahia"s first team from its reserve squad. In 36 appearances for Bahia he scored 10 goals.
On 9 January 2013, it was announced that he would join District of Columbia United as a young designated player on a one-year loan with a pre-negotiated option to make the move permanent.
He scored his first goal for the team in his debut game on 23 March, a 2-1 home defeat to the Columbus Crew. After making four more appearances with United, Rafael suffered a concussion during training.
Rafael and District of Columbia agreed to part ways in June 2013. In July 2015, Rafael transferred to China League One side Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard.
Rafael has represented Brazil at the under-20 level 3 times.
