REAL MADRID
Does Raphaël Varane want to leave Manchester United and return to Real Madrid?
French defender Varane won four Champions Leagues in 10 years with Los Blancos before joining the Red Devils in 2021.
Real Madrid continue to browse the transfer market for a central defender. It now appears as if a new - yet old - option has been put on the table, one manager Carlo Ancelotti likes the look of: Manchester United’s Raphaël Varane. And the good news is the Frenchman would be happy to return to his former club in January.
Why does Varane want to leave United?
The 30-year-old isn’t enjoying life at Old Trafford having been unjustly - in his view - dropped Erik Ten Hag. Varane misses the Spanish capital, where he still has a house and which he still goes back to for short visits with his family when he has some time off.
Bayern Munich also interested in Frenchman
The Frenchman spent 10 seasons with Los Blancos and a return appears to be a realistic option. His wages wouldn’t be an obstacle, with the player willing to be flexible in order to cut short his stay and United and seal a move back to Spain. The only potential spanner in the works is that Bayern Munich are also interested and are said to be readying an offer of between €10 million ($11 million) and €20 million ($22 million).
How much would Varane cost Real Madrid?
Varane was sold by Madrid to the Red Devils in the summer of 2021 for €40 million ($44.1 million), plus €10 million ($11 million) in add-ons. The centre-back agreed a deal until 2025, although, as reported The Athletic and confirmed by AS, both parties have to agree to the optional final year.
With the 2018 World Cup winner essentially out of contract next summer and looking to leave, United will be forced to sell him for a cut-price fee in order not to lose him for nothing in a few months. If Varane himself tries to force a move, the likelihood is Real Madrid could re-sign a player they sold two and a half years ago for around €50 million ($55.1 million) for no more than €10 million ($11 million).
Defender hit by injuries in Manchester
The defender hasn’t had an easy time of it in Manchester and has come under criticism from United fans. In two-and-a-half seasons in England, he has been injured for 174 days, missing 38 games. Just three months after joining the club, he was sidelined by a hamstring problem that kept him out for seven weeks.
But despite Varane’s injury proneness, which Madrid know all about, Ancelotti would be delighted to welcome him back onto the roster in January. Not just because he is an established, elite-level performer with a vast amount of experience, but also as he would, in theory, not need any time to settle in.
To make a potential transfer happen, the LaLiga giants will have to make the first move. Relations between the two clubs are amicable once again after the public falling out over David De Gea’s failed move to the Spanish capital in 2015. Madrid and United also did business in the summer of 2022, when Casemiro moved from the former to the latter for €72 million ($79.4 million) plus €13 million ($14.3 million) in add-ons.
Varane dropped by United boss Erik Ten Hag
Varane has been unable to understand why Ten Hag has dropped him from the United team because of perceived under-par performances as a left-sided central defender, with Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire preferred in recent weeks. After being recalled to the team for last weekend’s draw away to Liverpool, the former France international was named MVP but then missed Saturday’s defeat at West Ham United because of illness.