Rafael Galhardo


Rafael Galhardo de Souza, known as Rafael Galhardo or simply Galhardo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right back and is currently at Vasco da Gama.

Club career

Flamengo

Born in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Galhardo was a Flamengo youth graduate. He made his first team – and Série A – debut on 20 August 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jorbison in a 1–2 home loss against Cruzeiro.
Galhardo was definitely promoted to the main 2010, spending the following years mainly as a backup to Léo Moura. He scored his first senior goal on 27 April 2011, netting the first in a 3–0 away win against Horizonte, for the year's Copa do Brasil.

Santos

On 18 May 2012 Galhardo moved to Santos, along with Flamengo teammate David Braz, in an exchange for Ibson. He was mainly a second-choice to Bruno Peres during his first year.

Bahia (loan)

On 20 December 2013, after being demoted to third-choice after the arrival of Cicinho, Galhardo was loaned to fellow league team Bahia for a year. Rarely used during the first half of the campaign, he was only utilized in the last five league matches as a defensive midfielder.

Grêmio (loan)

On 10 January 2015 Galhardo moved to Grêmio in a season-long loan deal. He quickly established himself as an undisputed starter by appearing in 33 matches and scoring two goals, one of them against his former club Santos, and was also named the tournament's best right back by magazine Placar.

Anderlecht

On 7 January 2016 Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht signed Galhardo from Santos paying a €1 million transfer fee. In his period in Belgium he only played one match, against Sint-Truiden on 29 January 2016.

Atlético Paranaense (loan)

Cruzeiro

On 2017 Galhardo signed contract with Cruzeiro after recovering from a knee surgery. In six months at Cruzeiro he only managed to play in two matches and the club released him at the end of the season.

Vasco da Gama

On 14 January 2018 Vasco da Gama officially signed Galhardo.

Grêmio (second stint)

On 3 March 2019 Grêmio signed Galhardo on loan from Vasco da Gama until the end of 2019 season.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Flamengo
;Bahia
;Grêmio
Galhardo's older brother, Marquinhos was also a footballer. A midfielder, he represented Friburguense before dying from a car accident in April 2013.