Man United: Rafael da Silva on Ronaldo phone call before Old Trafford move

Rafael da Silva has opened up on a surprise phone call from Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of he and his brother's move to Manchester United.

The duo of flying full backs were monitored by the club over a number of years, and both finally agreed to head to Old Trafford in February 2007.

Both defenders have made no secret of the fact that the switch was a difficult one at such a young age, but Ronaldo appeared to have swayed their decision to join.

'He called my phone, and I'll never forget that,' Rafael told the UTD Podcast.

'My phone had all the zeros [on the screen, to indicate an international call] and I was saying "Who is this? I've never received a call like this."

'I answered, and I knew him because I'd trained with him before.

'He just said: "Ah, [Portuguese greeting]!" I ran to my bus saying: "It's Ronaldo, it's Ronaldo! He's calling us to speak!"

'He just said: "It's raining here, it's raining here in Manchester, like you know." He said: "I call to say to you guys: sign for Manchester United. I know you are going to like it," et cetera.

'I could not believe [it]. It was amazing.'

The twins turned 18 and penned professional contracts at United, and quickly went on to dazzle under Sir Alex Ferguson on both sides of the back four.

In total, they made 226 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals between them.