Manchester United have reportedly decided to part ways with Raphael Varane in the current transfer window. The Frenchman moved to Old Trafford back in 2021 and was one of the best central defenders at the time. However, Varane’s stint with the Red Devils has been underwhelming, to say the least. This led to United coach Erik ten Hag depending on other players rather than his star centre-back. Now in an exclusive report from Fussball.news it has emerged that Varane could be offshored by the English club for a fee of €30 million in January. As per the same report, Saudi Pro League clubs including Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad are currently in the race to sign the Frenchman.
Raphael Varane moved to Old Trafford from Real Madrid for a fee of around £41 million. He signed a four-year contract with the English club until 2025 and had a relatively impressive start at his new club. However, he soon fell victim to a series of injuries which resulted in him constantly moving in and out of the starting line-up, eventually finding a place on the bench. This season, Varane has only started in seven games in the Premier League. In the matches he played, the Frenchman had minimal impact on the game. This forced his coach Erik ten Hag’s hand in putting up the star defender for sale at a fee of £25.8 million.
Before things turned South, Raphael Varane’s blockbuster move was initially seen as a ‘win-win’ situation for both Real Madrid and Manchester United. While his former club was parting with him for a handsome fee, United were getting a highly decorated defender at just 28 years of age. Varane won everything there was to win with the Los Blancos including four UEFA Champions League trophies, three La Liga titles and four FIFA Club World Cups. The Frenchman even won the World Cup with France back in 2018, before retiring from his international team on February 2 last year.
As per the latest reports, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad are the two main sides pursuing Raphael Varane. Ronaldo, Benzema and Varane were teammates at Real Madrid and won a ton of silverware together. Their past relationship could entice the Frenchman to move to either of the two Saudi teams in the winter transfer window. Varane has played a total of 79 games for Manchester United during his two-and-a-half years at the English club. In those games, Varane managed to score two goals while providing one assist. He also won the EFL Cup with United back in 2022-23, ending the club’s six-year trophy drought. With no concrete developments on the Frenchman’s transfer, it will be interesting to see if the defender would consider a move to Saudi in January.
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