Thursday, 20th June, 2013
Borussia Monchengladbach have snapped up experienced Bundesliga campaigner Raffael on a four-year deal, marking their fourth arrival of the summer transfer window.
Officially employed by Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv, Brazilian Raffael was on loan at Schalke for the second half of the season and made 16 league appearances for them.
The midfielder even set up the winning goal when Schalke and Gladbach met at Borussia-Park, and his displays have bagged him a long-term deal with the side who finished eighth last season.
"In Raffael we are acquiring a versatile and technically gifted player for our attack", Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl was quoted on the Bundesliga website as saying.
relatedNewsStory
"This transfer wasn’t without complications, so we are happy it has gone through."
Raffael’s loan spell at Schalke had the option for it to be converted into a permanent deal, but Gladbach have swooped to make the capture and add further midfield options to their squad.
He had previously played in Germany’s top division when he spent four-and-a-half years at Hertha Berlin, and left for the Ukraine when they were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.
At the time, he had also been courted by Liverpool, in addition to a few Italian sides, which meant the move to Dynamo Kyiv came as somewhat of a surprise.
First team opportunities were hard to come by at Dynamo Kyiv, however, and he was restricted to just four starts out of nine games played.
Like betting on football? You simply must check out Inside Bet!
