Rafael Da Silva would be well advised to stick to his day job for as long as possible after his 2017 April Fools gag went down like a lead balloon on social media. Photo / Getty Images.
Rafael Da Silva would be well advised to stick to his day job for as long as possible after his 2017 April Fools gag went down like a lead balloon on social media. Photo / Getty Images.
Rafael Da Silva would be well advised to stick to his day job for as long as possible after his 2017 April Fools gag went down like a lead balloon on social media.
The former Manchester United full-back, now at Lyon, can chalk 'comedian' off his list of potential newcareers whenever he finally hangs up his boots, after nobody bought his joke that he was retiring at the tender age of 26 on Saturday.
The Brazilian topped off his shambolic efforts by making the joke at 6:21pm on the evening of April 1 - more than a quarter of a day past the socially accepted deadline for April Fools pranks.
To be fair to the player, he has stood by his tentative stab at humour and as of lunchtime on Sunday, April 2, the tweet containing the 'joke' has not been removed from the player's official profile.
That commendable stance has not diluted the many critics' stinging responses, with Twitter users piling in to against "the worst April Fools joke ever".
Not without his defenders though, several users expressed their sadness that this day might well come to pass for real in about 10-to-12 years.
Right-back Rafael joined current club Lyon from Manchester United for £2.5million in the summer of 2015, having first arrived from Brazilian side Fluminense as a 17-year-old in 2008.
He's registered more than 200 senior club appearances in his career thus far, and won his only two caps for his country back in 2012.
