REAL MADRID
Real Madrid would welcome Raphaël Varane back to the club in January
The French defender, now at Manchester United, has emerged as a real option for Los Blancos.
It is now official: with the long-term injuries to Militão and Alaba, Real Madrid have activated the search to sign a central defender. Los Blancos are, however, in no hurry and want to assess the options they have until the market closes before February 1.
The team’s needs mean that the profile being looked at is that of an experienced centre-back who can serve as a temporary solution and who can perform in competition at the most demanding level right from the outset. One of the names that have emerged first is that of Raphaël Varane (30-years-old), who is not seeing his best form at Manchester United, to whom Real Madrid sold him in 2021 for €40 million.
Varane would be welcome back at Madrid
The situation at present is that Varane’s name has not yet been officially put on the table at the Santiago Bernabéu offices, but there is an important nuance: AS understand that he would be welcomed back with open arms by the coaching staff who know him well. The Frenchman played a total of 69 games for Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti; among them, the Champions League final in Lisbon.
There is some confusion regarding Varane’s contract situation at Manchester United: the Frenchman has not had an easy time there and has always been highly questioned by the fans. In two and a half seasons he has been injured a whopping 174 days, missing a total of 38 games. The most serious of them was shortly after starting in England, on November 2021; the thigh injury took 50 days to heal.
Real Madrid see the positives in Varane
But even with the handicap of his fragility (something that is not new for Real Madrid), Ancelotti sees the positives regarding a potential incorporation. Not only is Varane already fully proven at the elite level (as well as a world champion with France), but also because he would not need any adaptation time at Real Madrid.
On the other hand, it would be a good deal for Los Blancos since they sold him for €40 million when the deal was fully amortised and now they could take him at a much lower price, perhaps even for free.
Varane’s contract may end this summer... but there’s a problem
In recent days, The Athletic reported that Varane’s contract actually ends this summer. Although it was announced that Varane signed with United until 2025, the last season is optional, as happened with Kylian Mbappé.
To add more to the mix, The Guardian revealed that the defender is one of the players that United’s owners want to sell along with Casemiro, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek. The main obstacle in the way of Varane ending up at Real Madrid is the high salary he has now, €15 million, a figure that would put him in Real Madrid’s top salary bracket. When he left, he was earning €8 million, which is almost half.