rafinha was born in londrina, brazil on 7 september, 1985. at the age of 7, he joined his local futsal team, gremio londrinense. in 2001, when he was 16, he moved to coritiba. he also joined the brazilian under-20 national football team. he was then signed by fc schalke 04 on a four-year contact for what is widely believed to be a transfer fee of €5 million