The right-back thinks his compatriot will soon realise the difference in quality between Germany and Ukraine
Bayern Munich defender Rafinha believes new signing Douglas Costa will need time to adapt to his new surroundings following his €30 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The versatile attacker, 24, recently signed a five-year deal with the Bundesliga champions and Rafinha believes his compatriot will quickly realise Bayern are a major step up from Shakhtar.
“Douglas Costa is a quality player, but with all due respect to the Ukrainian league and Shakhtar, Bayern are a different world, and Bundesliga opponents are better, more dynamic, more physical and quicker,” Rafinha told the official Bayern website.
“He’ll spot that straight away. We’ll certainly have to give him time to settle in.
“I’m delighted we’ve signed another Brazilian, but the coach decides who plays where.
“I only know Douglas Costa from our matches against Shakhtar last season.
“However, when Dante and I flew from Brazil to Germany last week, he was coincidentally on the same flight, although he was seated a fair way away from us and we couldn’t talk a lot. As a result, I can’t really say a lot about him yet.”
Douglas Costa will commence training with Bayern on July 11 following his participation at the Copa America with Brazil.