Lyon

Ex-Man U defender Rafael donated his wages to charity while injured at Lyon

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:34 p.m. ET

Aaron West

Former Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva was always popular with United supporters, and this latest move isn't going to do much to shake his valuation in fans' eyes.

The little Brazilian fullback moved on from the Red Devils last year, signing with Olympique Lyonnais in August of 2015, but he promptly picked up a thigh injury less than a month after joining his new team. Instead of sitting on the bench and quietly picking up checks, Rafael asked Lyon's management if they could waive his salary while he was sidelined.

Incredible, right?

It gets better. When informed that withholding pay wouldn't be allowed due to the terms of his contract, he decided instead to donate his salary to Olympique Lyonnais’ charity (OL Fondation), and specifically to a mobile robot that allows hospitalized kids to ‘attend’ matches and talk with players via webcam on matchdays.

The reason this story's just now coming out? Rafael refused to discuss it at the time as he didn’t want to make a big deal of it. But since then, he told L’Equipe: "I like playing and I like getting paid for it, but I was not playing. I’m glad I made money for the kids, but it was also good for me. It did me good."

How cool is that?

MORE FROM FOX SOCCER:

Get more from Lyon Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Lyon

Rafael

UEFA Champions League