July 28, (THEWILL) – As THEWILL reported on the completion of the transfer of Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane to Manchester United subject to a medical, it has now been confirmed by the two clubs that the centre-back is on his way to the Premiership from La Liga.
Manchester United have announced their signing of the world cup-winning Frenchman for around €50m. The centre-back still had one year remaining on his Real Madrid contract but decided to embark on a new challenge in England than seek an extension at the Santiago Bernabeu.
A club statement from Old Trafford said: “Manchester United is delighted to announce the club has reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of French international defender and World Cup winner, Raphaël Varane, subject to a medical and to player terms being finalised.”
Varane was absent at Tuesday’s training in Real Madrid, before both clubs publicly confirmed his transfer. The negotiations to arrive at a fair bargain that was mutually beneficial to Real and United held the move up for several weeks. THEWILL reported that the Old Trafford side had already reached an agreement on personal terms with the world-class centre-back.
Varane leaves after a prodigiously successful 10 seasons in Real that produced an astonishing 18 titles with his contributions from defense helping the team towards victories. This was expressed in the parting message from the club that said:
“Real Madrid would like to express their gratitude to Raphael Varane and his family and wish him the best of luck in this new stage of his career. Our club thanks the player for his professionalism and exemplary conduct throughout his ten seasons representing our colours.”
He will fit into a revamped United team that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fashioning out with the inclusions of Jadon Sancho, in from Borussia Dortmund, and now Varane from Real. They will help to better the second-place EPL finish from last season and challenge fiercer in the new campaign which begins against Leeds United at Old Trafford on August 14.
Varane’s credentials are impressive as the well established centre-back is one of the world’s top defenders, which became an undeniable fact after he joined Real from French side Lens in the summer of 2011. He made over 350 appearances for Real.
He was capped 79 times by France and was part of the 2018 World Cup winning team. Varane started all four of France’s matches at Euro 2020 before they were knocked out on penalties by Switzerland.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
