Football: Raphaël Varane leaves Real Madrid after a golden decade, heading for Manchester United

Arrived in the big ” White House “ At 18, Raphaël Varane decided to leave Real Madrid after a decade spent chasing trophies, the Champions League in mind. The French world champion will take up a new challenge at Manchester United.

The English club announced on Tuesday July 27 that they had reached an agreement with Real for the transfer of the French international, still subject to the medical examination and contractual details. Neither the amount of the transfer nor the duration of the contract was disclosed.

The offseason looks like the end of an era for the Merengues, the departure of the placid central defender adding to those of historic captain Sergio Ramos and coach Zinédine Zidane, who left slamming the door after an exercise concluded without any title.

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XXL awards

This does not prevent Varane from leaving Madrid with an XXL record, rich with four stars in the Champions League (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), three in the European Supercup (2014, 2016, 2017) and as many in the European Championship. ‘Spain (2012, 2017, 2020), among others.

If he won everything from a collective point of view, he has also built a solid reputation in a personal capacity, which was not won when he arrived in the summer of 2011. This pure product from the center of Lensois training only had around twenty Ligue 1 matches in their legs when they said goodbye to the Sang et Or, a few days after passing their baccalaureate.

Varane showed the same precocity with the national jersey, with a first call in August 2012, at 19, for the first match of Didier Deschamps as coach. After a few months’ return to the Hopes, he honored his first selection in March 2013 before becoming the youngest captain in the history of the post-war Blues, on November 18, 2014 against Sweden (1-0 ) in Marseille, at the age of 21 and a half.

With the Blues, the great defender (1.91 m, 81 kg) reached the Grail by lifting the World Cup on July 11, 2018 in Moscow, playing a leading role: holder in each match, he played the seven games in completeness, scoring the first goal against Uruguay (2-0) in the quarter-finals.

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With Pogba and Martial?

Before the Euro, ended on a false note at the end of June in the eighth against Switzerland, Varane had dribbled questions related to his future. “You can think about it, but I’m really focused on the goals we have, that’s clear. It is not a subject that I will bring up every day in my room. Then we’ll see. Now is not the time to discuss it. If I have to do it, it will be with the right people ”, he said at a press conference on May 27.

For him, the future will now be written at Old Trafford, the “Theater of dreams” in which Manchester United tries to reconnect with its glorious past.

Unhappy finalists of the last Europa League, the Red Devils won their place in the next Champions League thanks to their second place in the Premier League, behind the untouchable neighbor of City and ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea.

In the north-west of England, Varane will find midfielder Paul Pogba and striker Anthony Martial, unless one of the two Blues, or even both, sets sail.

With his status, his experience and his talent, the native of Lille claims a starting place in the central Mancunian hinge occupied until now by captain Harry Maguire and Swede Victor Lindelöf. Ivorian Eric Bailly and Englishman Axel Tuanzebe, their liners, each played around 20 games last season.

The World with AFP

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