Rafael Cabral Barbosa

Rafael Cabral is a Brazilian goalkeeper born in Sorocaba on 20 May 1990. He developed in Santos’s youth system after joining in 2003 and reached the first team in 2010, making his senior debut in a goalless draw with Cruzeiro. During his Santos spell, Rafael Cabral helped the club win three successive São Paulo State Leagues from 2010 to 2012, the 2010 Copa do Brasil and the 2011 Copa Libertadores. He moved to Napoli in 2013, where he competed for the starting role and saved Simone Padoin’s penalty in Napoli’s 2014 Supercoppa Italiana victory over Juventus. After continuing his career in Europe, he joined Reading in 2019 and saved two penalties in an EFL Cup shootout on his debut. He was named Reading’s 2019–20 Player of the Season. Rafael later returned to Brazil with Cruzeiro before moving to Real Salt Lake, where his experience, penalty-saving ability and distribution support his role as a composed modern goalkeeper.