Raphael Varane would only leave Man Utd for two clubs as World Cup winner draws up future plan

• French defender joined Red Devils in 2021
• Previously played for Real Madrid
• Classy centre-half started out at Lens

WHAT HAPPENED? The World Cup-winning defender joined the Red Devils from Real Madrid in the summer of 2021. He had spent 10 memorable years in Spain prior to that, with four Champions League triumphs taken in with the Blancos. Before moving to Santiago Bernabeu, Varane had started out in his native France with Lens, and the now 29-year-old says there is no chance of him representing a fourth team before the day comes for him to hang up his boots.

WHAT THEY SAID: Varane has told GQ Magazine: “I will finish my career either in Madrid, or in Manchester, or in Lens. It is sure that I will not join another club. But Madrid, it seems complicated to me, we don't usually come back to it. The most likely today is that I finish with Manchester or Lens.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Varane has already retired from international football, having earned 93 caps for France, and admits that he needs to start giving some thought to a date in which his club career is brought to a close. He added on his future plans: “The closer you get to 30, the more you think about it. Since I was seven years old I have been playing football so inevitably there is a little apprehension but no fear. Like every major decision in life, it requires careful thought and it will be done step by step.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty

Getty

Getty

WHAT NEXT? Varane is up to 56 appearances for United, and has helped them to bring a six-year wait for major silverware to a close following a Carabao Cup triumph in 2023, and the expectation should be that he still has plenty of football left in him at Old Trafford before retirement or a return to his roots at Lens become a possibility.